


Kingdom Hearts: Awakening

by OnioSonofGoku



Category: Final Fantasy IX, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 01:14:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21235700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnioSonofGoku/pseuds/OnioSonofGoku
Summary: Follow Sora as he crashes in Ylisse a month before the war with Walhart, only to be found by one Lucina. Now, he must fight to survive in a new world where once his enemies were allies, and his allies were once his greatest enemies. It's time to get to the 'heart' of Ylisse's problems and bring this war to an end.





	1. New Worlds, New Problems

_Clang!_ The sound of steel on steel rang in the air as two warriors trained, filling the empty streets of Radiant Garden with long forgotten sounds of battle. Ex-Soldier Cloud Strife roared as he launched himself at his disciple, the soon-to-be Keyblade Master, Sora Alexandros. His mother, Garnet Alexandros and his hand to hand teacher, Tifa Lockhart, looked on from the side lines as Sora fought his teacher to finally be done with Cloud's rigorous training programs.

It had been almost a year since Sora had failed the Mark of Mastery. After he came home, disappointed, but determined, he asked his mom if she knew someone he could train with to get stronger. She told him his strength wasn't the problem, but he refused to listen. So Garnet conceded to her sons stubborn attitude, commenting on how much like his father he was becoming, and gave Sora an address and file number for a hospital in Radiant Garden. When Sora asked how this would help him, she just gave the same sad smile she had whenever she spoke of 'that man' and said, "Not only will you find a teacher, but you will find the answer you've been looking for." So, a confused Sora made his way to Radiant Garden, and found the hospital and file. What he found inside shocked him to the core. A birth certificate with his mothers maiden name and his fathers name.

Sora yelled as he was thrown back from the force of Cloud's massive Buster Blade. He wielded the Kingdom Key, finding it the easiest to use, but it unfortunately just couldn't hold up to Cloud's raw power. Sora slammed into a wall, shattering the stone with his body. His vision blurred for a second, but he could faintly see his superhuman teacher tear through the air at him. He took a deep breath and threw his body up, flipping over Cloud's head.

"Ya missed." he whispered as he jumped over the fighters head. A flash of light blinded the blond haired warrior as he pulled his sword from the wall. He looked and saw Sora standing over him on the wall with both Oathkeeper and Oblivion in his hands. Spinning the Keyblades over his head, a shower of sparks fell onto Cloud's head, which annoyed him a bit.

Sora launched himself at the swordsman, using Oathkeeper for the intial attack. The brightly colored Keyblade reverberated hard in his hand as he brought its darker counter part up, knocking the now unsheathed (as in the cloth was taken off) Buster Blade up. The younger fighters weapons began to glow as he activated his own version of the Omnislash. Cloud had extensively trained him in 'Limit Breaks', though Sora didn't really enjoy the training. But, this time, he was going to enjoy the pay off.

He activated the technique by locking the ends of the Keyblades together, turning them into a dual bladed glaive. He flashed by Cloud at blinding speed, striking him once, then again, and again as the Soldier fought to find his fleet-footed student. Three more strikes before Cloud could react, but thats when Sora messed it up.

Sora had the power and speed, but not the stamina. At the seventh strike, he slowed down. Not much, but enough for Cloud to counter, which he did by planting his foot firmly into Sora's stomach. The wind now knocked out of the poor boy, he gasped in a mix of pain and instinct as he tried to pull air into his lungs. But, fate is cruel and so was his teacher. Cloud brought the blunt edge of his sword down on the doubled over teens back, slamming him into the ground almost ten feet below, and effectively ending his chances of leaving the training program.

"Sora!" Garnet yelled as she started to move foreward, but a strong hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned to see Tifa smiling at her. She nodded to the crater and Garnet turned to see what she was gesturing to. They both turned to see Sora pulling himself out of the crater, using Oblivion as a crutch until Cloud appeared next to the crater and offered his student a silent hand.

Sora smiled and took it, phasing his weapons out of existence as his teacher pulled him out of the hole. "Am I ever gonna beat you?" The Keyblade wielder asked, putting his arms behind his head as he normally did.

"One day, but not today." Cloud said, a ghost of a smile on his face. Even after all they had been through, all he had taught Sora, the only person he would open up to was still his girlfriend, Tifa, who was currently giving the very sore Keyblade wielder a 'you did okay' backslap, which, for Tifa, equated to getting punched in the back by Riku. Sora tried to tell her to quit it, but instead got knocked off his feet by the third smack, face planting into the ground. "Huh. He used to fall over after the first. I'd say he's made good progress. What about you?" the blonde swordsman looked at the women around them.

Garnet was picking Sora up off the ground while Tifa just giggled. "I'd say so. It's kinda nice to see how far he's come isn't it, Cloud?" the martial artist said, laughter still apparent in her voice. Cloud just grunted and re-wrapped the Buster Blade, attaching it to the magnets on his back. Tifa giggled again. "You care about him. You know you do." Cloud just scoffed and walked over to Fenrir, looking at Tifa as she giggled again, hopping on the back of the bike and wrapping her arms around him.

Garnet was brushing Sora down, fixing his clothes and his hair. Sora just sighed and let his mother fuss over him.. He knew arguing would get him nowhere with her. She was more stubborn than Kairi. ****Kairi... ****Sora shook his head hard, trying to dislodge that train of thought****. Stop it, Sora. She made her choice and she chose Riku. It's been almost a year now. Be happy for them, dammit!**** He felt something flick his forehead and looked to see his mother reaching up, her fingers about level with his forehead.

"I can practically see the steam coming out you ears Sora. What's wrong, baby?" Garnet asked, concern written on her face. Sora remained silent for a moment, avoiding her gaze. She sighed and cupped his cheeks in one hand and pulled his face back to look at her, locking him in with deep brown eyes. After a few seconds, she smiled slightly. "Still thinking about Kairi, huh?" she said, making it more of a statement than a question. Sora just absently nodded. He hated how easily she could read him.

Garnet was a beautiful woman, actually seeming to be about Sora's age as well as being almost a full foot shorter than him. Her dark brown hair reached almost to the ground, the end kept in a tail. To be honest, from the pictures he had seen of her and her friends from when she was 16, she looked almost exactly the same as she did back then except that her hair was turning gray at the roots.

They were torn out of their thoughts when they heard Fenrir roar to life, Cloud pulling up next to them. "Be here early tomorrow. We'll be doing double time all day, so get some rest." Tifa laughed as Sora's face turned to one of horror. Before Sora could say anything though, Cloud tore up the lane, Tifa still laughing.

Sora's eye twitched as he picked up a rock and threw it at the wall, only for it to bounce back and hit him in the forehead. "Gahhh, damn it!" He got another smack, this time from his mother's summoner racket as a warning about his swearing. He wasn't eighteen yet, so her rule of 'no swearing around Mom' was still in effect.

Sora was absently rubbing his head when he heard the familiar sound of thrusters above both looked up to see the Typhoon, Riku's gummy ship, coming in for a landing not too far from where they were ground shook as the large ship landed a few yards from them. A few seconds of waiting and a pneumatic hiss later, Kairi came running out, her long, red hair flaring out behind her. "Sora!" she cried, smiling happily as she hugged him and he hugged her in return, albeit with a bit of hesitation that didn't go unnoticed. Kairi pulled back, a worried expression on her face. "What's up?" she asked.

Sora just smiled that cocky smile of his. "Cloud gave me a pretty good beating today and I'm kinda sore." he lied. Kairi didn't look convinced, but didn't push it either, just hugging him more gently. Riku chuckled behind them and Sora joined him. He let go of Kairi and walked over to his silver haired friend, high fiving him. "What's up, Riku? You look like you won the lottery."

"Better. But, I'll let Kairi tell you guys." Riku just smiled and looked at how beaten up Sora was."Maybe after your mom heals you up." As soon as the dark Keyblade Master said that, Sora felt the familiar warm feeling wash over him. He looked behind him and saw a green light emanating from his mom's hands. He took a deep breath to let the spell work it's magic as Kairi came around, taking Riku's hand, looking like she was fit to burst. She whispered something in Riku's ear and he nodded.

She squealed and looked at both Sora and Garnet, who were looking at her like she was crazy. "Okay, as you know, me and Riku have been going out for a while." she explained. Sora almost winced in pain at this, but nodded all the same.

"Well," Riku took over here, "I felt it was time we moved our relationship forward so..." He looked over at the excited red head.

"He asked me to marry him!" Kairi jumped up and down and Garnet squealed with her, jumping up and down with her sons friend. As for her son, it felt as if his whole world came crashing onto him. Riku looked at him strangely, walked over to him and pulled him away from the squealing women.

"Okay, what's up man?" Riku said once they were out of ear shot. He watched his oldest friends face for any sort of change.

Sora just gave him another fake smile. "Nothings wrong, Riku. I'm happy for you guys. Really." And he was. He just wasn't happy for himself. He stood almost the same height as his friend at this point, giving Riku an easy chance to see the heartbreak in Sora's eyes. He sighed and hugged Sora with one arm, which Sora returned. He was on the verge of tears, but he refused to ruin Kairi's happiness. Riku was one thing, but he wouldn't hurt Kairi.

"Look, I know this probably isn't the best time to ask you this, but I need a best man." Riku said pulling back from Sora, who just started laughing like he always had.

"Well if you're gonna twist my arm. I have one request though. Mind keeping this between us?" Riku just laughed with him, pulled him in for another hug and walked back over to the girls with his comrade in tow. They were talking pretty excitedly about something.

Garnet looked up and saw them coming back over and smiled brilliantly at her son. "Sora, Kairi wants my help to set up the wedding. Isn't that great?!" She yellled excitedly, almost making the males in attendance ears bleed.

"Mom, I think you just hit dolphin level shrieks there." Sora said, checking his ear with his finger as the older woman glared at him, pulling her racket out. He prepared for a hard whack as Riku stepped between them.

"Hold on, Ms. A. I kinda need my best man alive for the wedding." Garnets glare turned to an expression of pure happiness and excitement as she hugged the Keyblade user, lifting him off the ground with her impressive strength, gushing about how great his friends were and how good he'll look in a tux. He just gasped out that he couldn't breathe and she put him back down, laughing. After making sure he had no broken ribs, he put his arms behind his head, giving them his usual smile as they talked about the wedding plans. About five minutes into the conversation, Riku clapped a hand on Sora's shoulder. "So Sora, any ideas for my bachelor party?"

"Don't know. Is the wedding before or after my eighteenth birthday?" Sora said, smiling wider.

"Sora!" both women screamed, making the men cover their ears again.

After a few seconds of silence, Riku leaned over and whispered in Sora's ear." After, for that reason."

Almost immediately, Garnet's racket met his head as Kairi swung it. Riku ran screaming like a girl as his fiancee chased him with the weapon. Sora and Garnet laughed at them, then noticed how late it was.

"Hey, lovebirds, it's time to pack it in. Lets get home so I can put dinner on." Garnet said, pulling her racket out of the still running Kairi's hands. The two slammed on the brakes, Kairi running into Riku's back from the momentum, at the sound of Sora's mom cooking. It was widely believed that she was the best cook on Destiny Island, so they were going to jump at the chance to enjoy her cooking. As they started asking what she was going to make for dinner, they migrated to the ships.

Garnet stopped as she noticed the look on Sora's face.

She smiled and kissed his forehead, then turned and ran towards Riku and Kairi. "Wait up, you two! I'm riding back with you." Her answer was a pair of confused Keyblade users. "Sora filled the cabin with some serious poison gas on the way here." They both nodded, Riku laughed, and Kairi smacked him again as they stepped onto the Typhoon, the pneumatic door hissing closed behind them. Sora sighed as he watched his friends and mother lift off, making his way back to the Ultima. As he stepped into the ship, he hit the lights on the bridge, sitting in the captains chair before flipping the switch for the door. He went about the basic start-up for the ship in a daze, his mind and heart else where. ****Why didn't I just make a move when I had the chance? Am I really that dumb? ****The ship began to lift off. ****I must be. Why couldn't Riku have been the original?**** Sora shook his head again as the ship left the atmosphere of the Radiant Garden. ****Quit it, Sora. Thoses kinds of thoughts are what made you transform into... that thing.****

(Flashback)

Sora yelled as he felt his Keyblade make contact with another Heartless. ****How many was that? 239 I think. ****He looked out at the battlefield that had been Hollow Bastion, seeing the dark bodies of the Heartless swarming across the field. ****There's no end to them!**** A small roar caught his attention as he swung The Rumbling Rose around to sever the head of a Sergeant Heartless. He watched as it faded out of existence, the small heart floating into the sky. He slammed the head of the Keyblade into the ground to support his weight as his legs started giving out****. I can't keep this up much longer. Oh, if Riku were here this would be over by now.****

Another swing, another destroyed Heartless. ****Dammit! Why did I have to be the Keyblade Master? I can't fight this kind of battle. If only Riku hadn't gone through the Gate of Darkness. Why would he just leave us like that? This wouldn't be happening if he hadn't been so dumb! ****Sora slashed at another Heartless, destroying it. But, this time it was different as the Heartless faded out of existence. A sharp pain ran up his spine as his anger at Riku peaked. ****This is his fault! None of this would've happened if it hadn't been for him!****

Unbeknownst to him, a dark aura surrounded his body and as it did, Sora's mind became hateful and full of rage. The aura completely swallowed him as the Heartless overtook him. One moment, two moments, three moments passed, and nothing happened. The next moment, Heartless began flying into the cliff side and vanishing as a shadow covered Sora began slaughtering the Heartless.

Anti-Sora ripped through the hordes of Heartless in a matter of moments, leaving only a few behind.

** **Sora...** **

** **Huh?** **

** **Sora... Come back... Sora...** **

** **Who is that? Kairi? No that's not her voice. But... It's beautiful. Ooooh, my head.** **

The dark aura evaporated from around him, the Rumbling Rose reappearing in his hand. He stumbled a bit before gaining his full sight and balance back. The last few took the chance to throw themselves at him, but he had already recovered and easily defeated them. ****What happened to the others? Hm, shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, as mom says. The others might need my help. Gotta move!, ****he thought as he ran out of the canyon.

(Flashback End)

****I have no one but myself to blame for that. I just have to keep training. Everything will work out in the end. ****He thought dimly as set the course of the ship and put it on autopilot. He leaned back and closed, hoping to catch a few minutes of sleep before landing. He'd only been asleep, according to the clock on the dash, for six minutes before the alarm started going off. He opened one eye and looked out the windshield, immediately waking up fully. ****Now that's a Heartless!****

A massive Heartless the size of several of his ships floated in front of him, blocking Destiny Islands from view. Both its arms looked like black blades attached to its pure white upper body, its head looked like the helmet that the Sergeant Heartless wear, but with a pair of red and white horns growing out the top, its lower body the same pure white of its upper body and having four clawed toes on each foot and large red wings adorning its back.

It roared and lunged at the Ultima, missing its hull as Sora dodge rolled at the last second. The strike still connected as the on-board computer said that his right engines had been severely damaged. He ignored it and swung the ship around, firing the Masamune laser blades that sat on top of his ship. The lasers hit their mark, taking one of the monsters arms off. It roared in as it lunged at him again, this time ripping away the top layer of metal on the Ultima, the lasers and guidance system with it. He could get by without them and the hull wasn't damaged enough to warrant his full attention, so he turned to face it once more, but a second set of blasts began striking the Heartless.

A hailing frequency opened on his computer, greeting him with the smiling face of Riku. "Need some help, bud?" he said as he fired his Excalibur lasers and hail of smaller blasts onto the unfortunate Heartless while Garnet and Kairi screamed at him to kill it in the background. The Heartless lost one of its legs and half its other arm. It roared and vanished into a Corridor of Darkness. Sora and Riku whooped as they saw it vanish, the girls cheering just as loud. But their celebration was short lived. They hadn't noticed that the corridor didn't leave with its conjurer until a second corridor opened next to Sora.

"Sora, look out!" they screamed in unison as the Heartless soccer kicked Sora's ship towards the first corridor. The Keyblade user in question was slammed face first into the windshield, dazing him and blurring his vision as well throwing him out of the chair. He shook his head and saw darkness close around the ship. He swore and ran for the controls, pulling the ship straight up. His breathing was labored and he felt something warm trickling down his head, drops of red hitting the controls and the floor.

He looked around in the dark corridor, shutting one of his eyes as blood flowed down his face. Damn it, there's gotta be something here! He searched for an hour at least, his vision fading slowly with every moment he spent in the corridor. Out of the corner of his still open eye, he saw a small light. A portal! He steered the ship to it, shaking his head as a new darkness began to invade his line of sight. Stay awake, come on stay... He slapped himself hard. Stay awake, dammit! His body was beginning to feel heavier by the second, his vision fading fast. What little he could see, caught the fact that he had broken through the open portal, headed straight for the earth under it.

He was going to crash, there was nothing he could do about that, but he was at least going to minimize the damage. He yanked up as hard on the controls as he could, his foot slamming the button for the landing gear. He heard the landing gear extend, and that was it. He never heard the ship slam into the ground, or the hull practically being ripped apart, nor did he feel his body being thrown from the ship as it slammed into a tree. All he knew was the darkness surrounding him and that voice...


	2. A Princess in Danger

****It's so dark. ****Sora thought to himself as he wandered around. ****I must be back in the Corridor of Darkness. That's all it could be. Wait…****

** **Hey…** **

** **You there?** **

** **Hey…** **

****That voice. I know that voice. ****Faint light began to flood his vision as his eyes opened, his mind finally feeling how heavy, weak, and sore his body was. An involuntary groan exited him as he felt a pair of hands on his chest, a familiar warm feeling washing over him. He opened his eyes halfway to see three people hanging over him, one a young woman with pigtails, another an older but rather effeminate looking man, both holding a staff, the ends of which were glowing a light green color. The third person over him was the one with her hands on his chest, like she was holding him down.

He couldn't see her face clearly through the glow of the staves and he was too sore to try and sit up, so he settled for an attempt at witty banter. "So… You guys here often?" he said, a weak smile spreading over his face.

The pigtail girl giggled as the man smiled down at him. "More often than I like to admit actually, my young friend. I am Libra, and this young woman is Lissa, and the quiet one holding you down is Lucina." Lissa waved excitedly at the confused young man as one of the gloved hands came up, waving at him before going back to his chest, careful not to put too much pressure on his ribs.

Sora groaned in pain all the same. "How… Where am I? What happened to my ship?" He looked to both his healers; hoping one of them would have the answer.

"You know, it's normally polite to give your name when someone introduces themselves." Lissa said, a very prominent pout on her face. Libra simply chuckled as he began to move the staff to other areas of the Keyblade wielders sore body. As the staff moved, the light still obscured Lucina's face from view, but it was easy to see even through the light of the staff the slight blush on Lissa's face. It took a moment and a cool breeze before Sora understood why.

He lifted his head a bit to see to his horror that he was completely naked in front of two young women and a man, none of which he knew. "Um, Libra? Why am I naked?!" he asked the healer.

Libra only laughed, Lucina answering the question for him. "Your injuries were severe. If they had tried to heal you with your clothing on, there'd be a chance it could permanently fused to your skin." She said matter-of-factly. Her voice sent an involuntary tingle up his spine, one that caused her to push down harder on his still healing ribs. "As for where you are and your… ship, you are in the Shepherd's encampment and your ship was destroyed after it hit the ground outside the encampment. I pulled you from the wreckage."

"Yes, yes, that's all well and good Luci, but we still don't know his name." Lissa said annoyed as she pulled her staff away, the warm feeling leaving Sora's body quickly.

"Oh sorry, Lissa. My name's…" He stopped short as Lucina's face finally came into view, the faint glow of early morning light lighting the tent. "… Wow." He remained gaping at her for a few seconds, a slight blush building on the pretty young woman's face. Lissa giggled, practically jumping up and down as she watched the two. Libra was enjoying the obvious embarrassment on Lucina's face as well, but he was merciful enough to end it by clearing his throat.

"You were saying?" he said to the young man.

"Hm?"

A small smile stretched across Lucina's face as the boy looked at the war monk in confusion. "You're name, child. What is your name?"

"Oh! Uh, my name's Sora. Sora Alexandros." He said, looking down as another cool breeze through the front of the tent. "Um, do you think I could get dressed by any chance?"

"Of course. The clothes you were wearing were badly damaged, so our tailors are fixing them. Chrom arranged for a new set of clothes be brought for you." The older offered the young warrior a hand up off the table. "I apologize for having two young women in here to see you in your… glory, but we are short-handed at the moment. Lissa and I are the only two healers in camp right now."

Sora gratefully took his hand, pulling himself into a slumped sitting position as the two women averted their eyes. "Um, I guess it's okay if that's what had to be done." Libra handed him a rather expensive looking set of travel clothes that were, from the feel and look, cotton and silk. "Wow, this Chrom guy must be loaded or something."

Lucina turned around almost immediately at hearing this. Lucky for her, Sora had pulled on his breeches first. "Chrom is not some guy. He is the leader of the Shepherds and of this country. You would do well to remember that." she said, turning and storming out of the tent.

Sora stared wide eyed at the entrance to the tent as it flapped. "Did… I say something I shouldn't of?" He looked at Lissa and Libra, waiting for an explanation to her outburst.

"Chrom can be a touchy subject for her, especially if someone doesn't give him the proper respect. What can you do, he's her father." Lissa said, keeping her back turned even though she probably knew Sora was half dressed.

"Her father? Wow, Chrom must be pretty old then. She's gotta be like 18."

"19 actually. And I'm not that old." said a young man in a sleeveless leather armor suit, a pinkish tattoo on his shoulder. He extended his hand for Sora. "I'm Chrom. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sora." Sora took his hand, shaking it briskly. Chrom smirked at him, looking up at Libra and Lissa. "How are you? Think you can stand?"

"Uh, yes sir, I think so." Sora placed his feet on cool dirt, lifting himself off the table very shakily. He started to fall forward, Chrom and Libra catching him. "Wow, a few hours on a table and I can't seem to walk right."

Chrom and Libra looked at him strangely, Lissa just giggling as she brought the boy some water. "Sora, you've been unconscious for three days. Lissa and Libra have been with you every hour of the day. You were very badly hurt, I mean, you had a hunk of metal through your chest."

Sora stared at Chrom incredulously as his hands went to his chest, noticing to large indentation on the right side. "It's a miracle only great Naga could perform. She has truly blessed you, my child." Libra said, washing his hands in a bucket of water.

"Naga? Who's that?" As soon as those words left his mouth, Sora regretted it. All people in attendance froze, staring at him like he was an alien. "Okay, now I know I said something I should of. What?"

Lissa started laughing loudly. "Come on, Sora! Even if you came here on that weird ship thing, you'd have to know who Naga is." When Sora shook his head, it was Chrom's turn to laugh at Lissa's expression. Before he actually said anything, a scream echoed through the camp. Lissa made a break for an axe in the corner, rushing out of the tent with an axe wielding Libra in tow. Sora stumbled for a moment as he tried heading for the exit, only to be stopped by a blade wielding Chrom.

"Sora, I like your enthusiasm, but you're in no shape to fight. Stay here."

"But I can fight! I can help! Please you guys saved my life, let me help!" Sora pleaded.

"You don't have a weapon. How can you fight?"

"I do too have a weapon!" Sora held his hand out, calling out the Keyblade. There was no light, no feeling of cool metal in his hand, no Keyblade. He looked at his hand as Chrom looked at him like he was insane.

"Okay, well I have to go help them. When you find your… weapon, come on out." Chrom said, taking off out the tent. Sora didn't actually hear him, his mind running at a hundred miles an hour, trying to understand how a weapon tied to his heart couldn't be with him. ****What the hell is going on?****

His thoughts were interrupted by another scream just outside the tent. He rushed out to see Lucina, wounded and beaten but still protecting two young girls their age, with a large man towering over her in a dark red set of armor and a blue headband on his head, a large silver sword in his hand. A dark sneer was on the man's face as he stepped closer to the warrior princess.

"It's a shame that such a pretty flower must be cut down. Why don't I make you a deal?" He cupped Lucina's chin and lifted her face up to look at him, a grimace on her face. "If you step aside and let my boys have those girls, I'll leave your friends alive."

Lucina scoffed then bit the webbing between his thumb and index hard enough to draw blood. The bandit screamed and let her go, giving Lucina an opening to swing her own weapon at him, only have it blocked by the warrior. A hard blow to the stomach was her reward for trying to fight back. The warrior lifted his sword, preparing to deal the final blow and letting loose the down swing. But like he had done to Lucina, his weapon was effortlessly blocked by Sora.

Sora yelled as he pushed the man back, the large hero-class fighter stumbling back several steps. Sora had found a steel sword on a dead ruffian and, though it made him kind of sick to his stomach to use the weapon of a dead man, he had to save Lucina.

The man glared at him as Lucina and the women looked at him, shocked beyond words. Sora just stood there brandishing his weapon before dropping into his trademark stance. The women's confusion deepened as they watched him drop, but the man just roared and charged forward, sword above his head in both hands. Sora rushed forward almost too fast for them to see, slicing the man's belly in one fluid motion, colored leather being all that covered that area strangely.

The man felt the blade slide across his belly, realizing that it had been nothing more than a warning strike. "I'm sure you've realized how easily I could have killed you there. To be honest, I've never killed a man before." If you don't count the Heartless, Nobodies, XIII, and both forms of Ansem as men. "I'd rather avoid it if possible." Sora said, readying his sword for the second strike. One that came with a louder roar. Sora swung the sword behind himself, not bothering to turn as he deflected the attack. The man swung again, this time Sora turned and deflected the blade again, but stepped in and grabbed the man's arm before running his sword through the warriors' belly. "What is your name? No man should be buried without a name."

The man laughed, blood spraying from his lips. "You're too good for this. You won't live long in this hell."

"I asked your name, not your analysis." Sora snapped as he started pulling the sword from the man's stomach.

He groaned in pain, coughing up a mouthful of blood. "Chr… Christoff is my name." He lifted his sword, pushing it into Sora's free hand. "The blade I hold is special, boy. Its name is Rune. Take care of it… My father will never… let me hear… the end of it… if you… don't…"He gasped as Sora pulled the steel sword from the man. He started fall backwards, Sora helping him to the ground. He convulsed for a moment before his body went limp, the light in his still open eyes fading. Sora looked away before shutting Christoffs eyes for good. He hadn't realized that the fighting that had been going on around him had stopped, a few people gathering around him and the fallen fighter, one of which was Chrom, another a young, blue haired man with a hard looking swordsman beside him.

Chrom had a sullen look on his face as he knelt beside Sora, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Do you plan on given him a proper burial?" Sora simply nodded as he undid the leather that held Rune's scabbard to Christoffs waist. "Maybe you'd like some help?"

"I think that's and excellent idea, Chrom." said the blue haired man. He wore a purple and gold cloak with golden runes and lines, a sliver sword at his waist and a thick, yellow, leather tome in the opposite hand. He knelt on Sora's other side, offering his hand. Sora slowly took it. "I'm Marcus, the Shepherds personal tactician. It's nice to finally meet you Sora."

Lucina limped over to the men, the girls having run inside the first chance they had. "Are you an idiot, Sora?! You're wounded! There was no reason for you to get involved like that." She yelled, Sora immediately jumping to his feet at the outburst.

"I don't know or care what your problem with me is, but you need to back off! I helped you because if I hadn't, you'd be dead, or worse, you'd of been taken with those girls! I'm wounded, not dead, so I'm gonna do what I want to, especially if that means saving your scrawny ass!" He screamed back, no more than an inch from her face. He didn't care about the shock that went through everyone there as he turned, slid Rune into its scabbard, and picked Christoffs body off the ground as he began trudging to the edge of camp, grabbing a shovel on the way.

He was aware of the sound of three more sets of feet behind him, guessing they belonged to the three men from before. He kept walking until the sound of the people in camp began to fade out of earshot, laying the dead warrior's body on the ground. He stared at Christoff's face once more. He couldn't be much older than himself, maybe about twenty or twenty-one, his hair a light chestnut brown and badly cropped. He had one scar on his chin that ran down the front of his neck.

Sora sighed as he began stripping the warrior's armor off, his shovel next the body. He heard a shovel hit the dirt and looked over at the person at the end of it. His eyes widened as he saw Lucina lift a small mound of dirt with her spade, her father and Marcus helping. She only looked at him for a moment before returning to shoveling dirt. He pulled off Christoffs chestplate and set it on the ground beside him before he started shoveling alongside the other three.

They worked in silence for the most part until Chrom tried breaking ice. "So Sora, mind telling me how you learned to fight like that?" He said, looking up at the young boy.

Sora just shrugged and continued digging. "For the most part I learned on the job. When you've got evil little monsters after you, no matter where you go, and you've been forced to play a part in a war that has little to nothing to do with you, you pick things up." He said nonchalantly as he tried pulling himself out of the finished grave, grimacing at the sharp pain in his ribcage.

Marcus took his hand, helping him out of the hole, smiling at Chrom. "Now, why does that sound so familiar, old friend?" They both laughed at the inside joke, Sora being thoroughly confused. Lucina made no sound as she worked; only exhaling sharply as she tried pulling herself out.

Sora chuckled as he went over to her, offering a hand up. She merely narrowed her eyes and tried to get out on her own to no avail. Sora sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I yelled at you like that, but my emotions were a bit haywire back there. Why don't we call a truce?" He held his hand out again, a small smirk on his face. She averted her eyes, a slight blush on her face before she took his hand.

"I'm sorry as well. I had no right to yell at you like that when you saved not only mine, but the lives of those girls. Thank you." She said, pulling herself out before nearly pulling Sora in. He jerked back to keep his balance, yanking Lucina on top of his chest. The light pink blush that had been on her face intensified, matching the deep red color of his cheeks. They scrambled to get away from each other, avoiding each other's gaze. It was hard to keep from blushing harder with Chrom and Marcus laughing even harder than before behind them. They started running as Lucina started throwing rocks at them, still laughing. They both ran back to camp, rocks flying at their heads.

Sora laughed as Lucina turned to glare at him. He just smirked and stuck his shovel in the ground, his smile disappearing as he looked at Christoff's body. He'd never killed a man before and seeing the face of the one he'd done in… It was different. Lucina walked up behind him, laying her hand on his shoulder gently. "It's never an easy thing to have to take a life. And it won't get better, but it does get easier to do." Sora layed his own hand over hers, giving it a slight squeeze before he bent down to pick up Christoff's body, laying the dead warrior in the grave before climbing out, with Lucina's help. Lucina handed him the sword he'd used to end Christoff. "I'll go and get Libra so he can give him his final rights." With a slight amount of hesitation, she took off for the camp, leaving the Keyblade user alone with the man he'd killed.

Sora stared down at the young man for a moment before picking his shovel back up and pouring dirt over him, the man having been allowed to wear all but his upper body armor into the afterlife. ****Where ever that may be in this world, ****he thought to himself as he continued shoveling the dirt into the hole.

The grave was about half full when Libra and Lucina showed back up, Chrom and Marcus with them, though they both sported some rather large bumps on their heads. Sora would have chuckled if his current job hadn't soured his mood. Libra walked up to him, a solemn expression on his face. "You're a good man for giving your enemy a proper burial, Sora. Naga will smile on you for this." He said as he picked up a shovel, chanting aloud in a language Sora couldn't understand, Marcus and Chrom doing so as well, minus the chanting, leaving the still wounded Lucina to supervise. The four men finished shoveling in the dirt as Libra finished his prayer.

"Well, I've worked up an appetite. Anyone wanna join me at the mess hall? Sumia told me she was going to be making one of her pies." Chrom said with a smile, hoping to lighten the mood a bit. He succeeded. Marcus shouted happily as Libra thanked Naga for Sumia's talent, Lucina joined in, just smiling and laughing as she followed the men back. Marcus stopped and looked back as he noticed that Sora was still standing next to the grave, the bloodstained sword in his hand.

The young Keyblade master-to-be stuck the sword into the ground just above where Christoffs head would be, placing his upper body armor piece on it, the hilt sticking through where the head would be. Sora stared at the blue headband he'd been wearing before tying it around his upper arm, before placing his hand on the top of the sword and turning around to the camp, coming face to face with the tactician. "I'm sure Lucina already gave you the 'it's never easy talk.'" Sora nodded, confused about Marcus's obvious concern for him. "She was right. It's never easy to do what you had to do today. But, I want you to think about this. You made sure those women could go home to their families today."

"But what about his? What about his family, Marcus?" Sora asked.

"Well, the way I see it, every man has a reason for what they do. If they see that reason as enough to die for, than you have nothing to regret. It's simply the path they've chosen to walk."

Sora's shoulders slumped a bit as a few tears began to fall. Marcus clapped his hand over the boy's shoulder and he looked at him, his bright blue eyes sad, scared, and… lonely. A smile came to the tacticians face. "Lucina was right."

"What?"

"Nothing. Let's get to the mess hall. You look like you could use a good slice of pie and Chrom's wife makes the best you'll ever taste." Marcus said, wrapping his arm around Sora's shoulders and leading him back to camp.

Sora smiled lightly as he was led away from the burial site. They laughed and talked the whole way back as the same words kept playing in his head. _You're too good for this. You won't live long in this hell._


	3. Paralogue: Sora vs Chrom

The light of dawn flooded the camp, glinting off the armor of Frederick the Wary as he surveyed the camp. Chrom had given him orders to make sure all the Shepherds were awake by dawn for morning training. A loud yawn came from his wife, Maribelle, as she walked out of their tent. "Dear, do we really need to wake up so early? Naga is still asleep right now."

"The early bird catches the worm, my love. I'm going to begin waking everyone so you can go on to the mess hall and eat some breakfast. I'll join you in a bit." The knight said, kissing the Valkyrie before walking down the line of tents waking everyone. The only two he had trouble waking were Lissa and Marcus. Lissa woke first, scrambling to find her clothing after their activities the night before. Marcus just snored loudly, not budging. Frederick sighed lightly. "Milady, would you please step outside for a moment?" Lissa glared at him as she pulled her dress on, pulling her boots on as she walked out of the tent. She jumped when she heard Marcus yelp and run of the tent, soaking wet and still nude.

"Cold, cold! So cold!" He yelled, freezing for a moment as everyone started laughing at him. Lissa giggled and handed him a piece of leather, the tactician quickly covering himself as he glared daggers at the smirking knight. "Why would you do that?!"

"It seemed the best idea to wake you, my friend." He chuckled as he tossed Marcus his robes and breeches, his smile fading. "Lord Chrom has requested that all present be in attendance for morning training. We must be ready for when we attack Valm."

Marcus only nodded as he pulled his breeches on, robes coming after. "Lissa, I'm gonna help Frederick. Go on and eat." He said, giving her a quick kiss.

She returned the kiss and hugged him, smiling as she tried to put a frog down the back of his robe, screaming as a cold sensation ran down her back. She jumped back to see Marcus laughing, holding a wooden cup in his hand. "That is so not fair!" she pouted.

"All's fair in love and war, my dear." he said, kissing her again, deeper this time as she giggled.

She pulled back, smiling and holding one hand. "Love you."

Marcus smiled back. "Love you more." He let go of her hand as she walked to the mess tent. Marcus turned to a grinning Frederick. "What?"

"Nothing, Marcus. Let us be on our way." he said as he started walking, opening the flaps of the tents and waking everyone.

Marcus started on the opposite side, waking everyone in the same fashion until he got to Lucina's tent at the end. He opened the tent to see the princess already dressed and ready, her practice sword and Parallel Falchion in hand and on her waist. She looked over at the tactician. "Can I help you, Marcus?" Her face was expressionless as she regarded him. "Are you here to ask me to spar with you for the day?"

Marcus smirked lightly as an idea began to hatch in his head. "Oh, no, but there is something you can do for me." Lucina looked at him strangely. "You see, Lissa wanted me to join her for breakfast, but I had to help Frederick. You know how your aunt can be when she doesn't get her way." Lucina nodded, still looking at him suspiciously. "Well, I was wondering if you'd finish my rounds for me. Sora's the only one left to wake up. Bye." He ran out of the tent as Lucina started throwing things at him.

"You snake in the grass!" she yelled as she ran out of the tent, seeing that he was already halfway down the tent line. The young princess sighed as she turned to walk down the path to the medical tent. She began to think about why she was so angry about this. It wasn't that she didn't like Sora. She didn't know him. She just felt… Strange around him. She didn't know how to act or how to react with him. She shook her head. ****Enough. Just wake him up and walk away.****

She pushed the flap of the tent open, seeing a heap on the bed. "Sora, wake up. My father wants-"

"For what?" He said, rolling over to look at her, his brilliant blue eyes locking onto her own baby blue ones. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine as she looked at him. He smiled at her. "Ya know, I don't think we're gonna get anything done if we keep staring at each other."

Her eyes widened a bit as her face flushed dark red. She scowled at him before picking up a set of leather armor Chrom had left the night before and tossing it at him. "Morning training. Now." She stormed out of the tent, her face still dark red. She made her way to the training grounds, trying to ignore Sora's chuckling behind her. She turned back to see him slipping the leather over his bare upper body. She hadn't gotten a very good look while they were healing him because she kept herself turned away, but now she had to admit, he was a bit impressive.

His body wasn't heavily muscled like most of the men around camp, but it was easy to see the power in his structure. He was lean, but not skinny, his shoulders not very far apart but squared off in a masculine structure. He was about as tall as Inigo, who practically towered over the princess. His chocolate brown hair was untamed and stuck up in spikes everywhere, this, coupled with his handsome face, gave him a boyish look with the body of a strong young man. Wait.

****Did I just think of him as handsome? ****She almost violently shook her head, trying to dislodge the thought before it took root. She wasn't thinking this, she couldn't be thinking this.

Sora just stood behind her and raised an eyebrow. A young man with ruddy red hair walked by him. He'd learned the night before his name was Inigo. "Hey, Inigo, is she okay?" he said, pointing at the young woman.

Inigo just laughed. "Oh yeah, she's fine. She just does that sometimes when she starts thinking about something she doesn't like." Sora shrugged lightly, pulling the armor over his right shoulder, groaning loudly as a jolt of pain ran through him. His legs began to give out from under him, Inigo having to catch him. Lucina looked back, running to help the boys as Inigo sat Sora down. "Maybe we should tell your old man Sora isn't up to training yet."

"I think you're right, Inigo. Let's get him back to the-"

"No. I'm okay. Just help me stand up." Sora said, gritting his teeth as he tried to find his footing. Inigo looked at him like he was insane, but helped him anyway, letting his weight weigh on his shoulder. Lucina didn't know what to say or think. The wound couldn't be healed properly, even with their most powerful staves in the hands of their most experienced healers and yet he refused to let it slow him down. Inigo tried to help him walk to the training, but Sora refused the help, pushing himself away as he walked.

Lucina came up behind him and wrapped her arm around his, supporting his right side. "You will say nothing." The look on her face had the Keyblade user wishing he hadn't been born male, but the cute blush on her face also helped him to get a smile back on his face. They walked like that up to the training grounds, Lucina unable to meet anyone's gaze and Sora almost unable to keep from laughing. If he weren't border line terrified of the young woman on his arm, he would be.

To make matters worse, Sumia had seen the two and ran to get Chrom, unbelievably happy to see her daughter with someone. Lucina never noticed her father coming up behind them, but Sora did. "Don't look now, but your dad is behind us."

"What?!" Lucina turned around quickly, her elbow hitting the poor boy in his ribs, just above his scar. He yelped in pain and doubled over, everyone in the area rushing to his side. He'd become pretty popular after saving Lucina.

"Gods, Lucina, I was just coming to ask if anything was going on. You didn't need to immobilize the poor boy." Chrom said, a light chuckle in his voice as he helped Sora to his feet. "Maybe you should rest some more, Sora. I don't think you're ready to be out here with us."

"What is with you people? I've been worse off than this. I want to be here. Now, will someone get me a practice sword?!" Sora yelled, pain and annoyance driving his temper through the roof. Chrom stared wide eyed at the boy as did most of the people in attendance.

Chrom smiled at him after a few seconds. "Lon qu, toss me a sword for our friend." The hardened swordsman just grunted and tossed a wooden sword to Chrom, who in turn handed the sword to Sora. Sora reached for the blade only to have it pulled away at the last second. "You can train on one condition. You have to be able to keep up with one person of your choice in here for a full rotation. Deal?"

Lucina swallowed lightly, praying to Naga that Sora said no. "Deal."

****Are you not listening or something, woman?!**** Lucina thought angrily. "Sora, you're wounded. You're gonna get hurt more. Please, just go back to the tent." she pleaded.

Sora ignored her plea, searching around the room. He wanted a challenge, but he didn't want to be beat down either. He knew he wasn't at one hundred percent, but he wasn't going to just sit on his butt and wait to heal either. He looked around the room, searching each person. His gaze stopped on Marcus for a moment, but figured that the tactician was much more experienced than him. His gaze flicked over to Lucina. He didn't like the idea of facing a girl. Finally, he came to one last person. "I choose you, Chrom."

Lucina's eyes widened in disbelief as the Shepherds began to step back from the two. Chrom smiled and drew his own practice sword, readying himself. "I hope you're ready, Sora." Sora started to think that choosing Chrom was a bad idea as he dropped into his usual stance. Before he had time to even tighten his grip, Chrom rushed him, swinging downward. Sora backpedaled and rushed forward, swinging outward. Chrom deflected the strike and jumped into the air, somersaulting midair and bringing the sword down. Sora was just barely fast enough to stop the attack. ****Damn it! It feels like I'm fighting Cloud again!****He didn't have time to keep going with his inner monologue as Chrom twisted around, bringing his boot into Sora's chest. The strike reminded him of the test in Radiant Garden, but this kick hurt so much more. Blood and spit shot from his mouth as he was lifted off his feet, hitting the ground a few feet back.

Chrom resheathed his weapon. "Lucina, Frederick, Donny, take him back to the medical-"

"No!" Sora yelled as he stood back up. "I can keep going." He presented the sword to Chrom, dropping his stance again.

Lucina stepped in front of Sora. "Sora, no one is going to think any different of you. Please, stop this. My father is a master swordsman. You're going to get hurt."

Chrom chuckled, pulling the sword free again. "I can say this much, you're dedicated." Sora rushed forward with a new level of speed, easily stepping around Lucina, his speed closer to what he'd been using when he fought Chistroff. Chrom had little time to deflect the initial strike before the second came, catching the exalt in the shoulder. He stepped back, slashing upward at Sora only to have the blow deflected to the side, the Keyblade user stepping in and bringing the point of the sword to the underside of Chrom's chin.

"Looks like this round is mine, Your Highness. " Sora said, a large smile on his face.

Chrom just laughed. "Check again, playboy." Sora looked at him confused before he felt a tight grip on his sword arm. He looked to see Chrom's hand wrapped around his wrist and his sword point against his stomach at an upward angle. "We'll call this a draw, deal?"

Sora hung his head, stepping back and sheathing his sword. "Thank you for the match, sir."

Chrom patted his shoulder. "Don't be discouraged, Sora. You did better than Marcus in his first match. I'm honestly surprised. And I have a proposal for you."

Lucina just rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples, a migraine beginning to form as Sora looked at Chrom suspiciously. "What kind of proposal?"

"I actually meant to talk to you about this last night after you saved Lucina. I think that what you did and the display of raw talent you just gave us solidifies my choice. Now, I think I speak for everyone here when I ask you, Sora, if you would like to join our ranks as a Shepherd?" Chrom smiled at the awestruck boy as everything grew quiet.

"Chrom, I just crashed here four days ago. I have no idea what's going on or how I'm going to get home for my best friend's wedding. If I don't get back, Riku will kick seven shades of shit out of me and Kairi will take my manhood and put it on display." All men present groaned in unison, especially Virion and Inigo. "So what I have to say is… Why not? I'll join up if you help me find a way home."

"We'll do that and more, my friend. Welcome to the Shepherds, Sora." Everyone began cheering loudly as they ran forward to hug their newest member, all except Maribelle and Frederick. Not because they disliked him, but they didn't know if they could trust him. But they did rush forward when Sora cried out in pain. Chrom laughed as everyone backed up. "Maybe you should rest now,huh? How about tonight at dinner, you tell us your story, eh?" Sora merely nodded, finding it hard to catch his breath. Lucina took his arm again, helping him to get to his feet.

"I'm gonna get him back to the tent. I'll be back."

"Actually, Lucina, I think you should stay at the tent with him." Marcus finally spoke up, stepping out of the crowd. "You were wounded as well. You need time to recuperate."

Lucina stared at him for a moment before nodding and helping Sora along slowly. "Have our breakfast brought to us, please."

Chrom yelled to her that he would, then he turned to his tactician. "Playing matchmaker again, Marcus?" Marcus only smiled at the young man. Chrom was in no smiling mood though. "Keep in mind, if my daughter gets hurt, I will hold you responsible." Chrom said menacingly low as he walked by his friend. Marcus just kept smiling as he watched the princess walk with the Keyblade user.

It took a bit to get to the tent and when they did, Lucina helped Sora to lie down. She noticed that he had bags under his eyes. ****Were those there before? "****Sora, did you sleep last night?"

Sora shifted uncomfortably on the cot, unsure of how to answer. "Lucina, you've… you've killed men before, haven't you?" The young woman was taken aback by this, but she nodded. "Do they haunt you? Do you see their faces when you close your eyes? All night, while I was trying to sleep, all I could see was Chistoff's face. I couldn't get it out of my mind. I couldn't sleep at all."

Lucina merely stared at the boy, but after a few moments of silence, she finally answered. "Some nights are better than others. As I told you yesterday, it's never easy, but it does get easier. As Shepherds… as warriors, it is a burden we must carry." She smiled up at him lightly, patting his hand. "I'll uh, I'll let you sleep. I'm strong enough to stay in my tent."

As she got up to leave, she felt Sora's fingers curl around her hand, holding her in place, but not hard enough to hurt her. "Ya know, it's not good for you to bottle up everything." She just stared at him, confused. "I can see it in your eyes. You think you need to keep it all in; that you need to deal with your problems alone. You need to trust the people who love you to help carry that burden. Just sitting down and talking about what is wrong can make it easier to carry." His voice was clear and strong, his eyes kind as a lopsided smile stretched across his face.

Lucina's face flushed a light red color, unable to tear her eyes from his. She wanted to pull her hand away and run. She wanted to go back to her tent and curl up in bed, but she couldn't. She simply couldn't. She kept ahold of his hand as she sat in the cot next to his. She didn't notice the little smile on her face. "Well, what do you want to talk about?" she asked.

He smiled as he asked her about what she would be willing to talk about, which led to a conversation of the hellscape that was her world, how the dead roamed and an evil god threatened to destroy all. They talked about her parents, what little bit of a childhood she'd had and how much fun Cynthia could be, even when she was bouncing off the wall. She talked about how she'd always dreamt of a world where there was no fighting, no war. Just peace. Maybe somewhere she could relax and have fun like a normal teen her age, even if she was royalty. Something about how she said that reminded him of a conversation he'd had with his mother. About how he was supposed to be the next in line for a throne in a different world. Then the description of the world she wanted to see.

"Hey, that sounds a lot like where I grew up til I was about fourteen." She looked at him strangely. He just laughed as a young boy, Ricken, if he remembered correctly, brought them their food. "Thanks, bud." Ricken nodded and bowed out of the tent. "Now where was I? Oh yeah, home. Destiny Islands. Everywhere you look, there's beautiful, clear ocean you can almost see to the bottom of and white, sandy beaches that are always warm. It's so peaceful there you can just sleep the day away most of the time and no one would notice."

"I'd like to see your 'Destiny Islands' then, Sora. It sounds amazing." Lucina said dreamily as she sat back up.

Sora smiled more as he sat up as well, a bit slower. "It is. I just wish I could have protected it better when I was a kid… Let's eat. The foods getting cold." He said as he tore into his breakfast, his stomach rumbling violently. Lucina giggled as she began eating as well, showing a bit of restraint. Sora looked over at her. "Ya know, you should smile more often. You look cuter like that." She blushed brightly and glared at him. He only put his hands up in defense. They both laughed as they finished their food.

"Alright, I've talked on and on about myself, but you haven't really said anything, Sora." Lucina said as she drank her juice.

Sora choked a bit on his juice as he set the glass down. "Uh uh, we're talking about you here. I'm sure the others will drag plenty out of me at dinner." He looked over at her to see her giving the cutest pout he'd ever seen. "Now, that's not fair." She didn't let up. Lissa had trained her well. Sora finally sighed. "Okay, fine, just quit the pouty face, please?" Lucina smiled and lied back in her cot as she waited for Sora to start. "Well, what do you wanna hear?"

"Why not start at the beginning? Give me a good idea of how this Sora came to be." Lucina said, looking over at the Keyblader.

"The beginning huh? Well, my father met my mom, they hit off, then they hopped in bed and-" He quickly silenced by a pillow to the nose.

"You know what I meant."

"Yeah, yeah. Well, I grew up on Destiny Island with my two best friends, Riku and Kairi. We spent every chance we had together. My mother, Garnet, was like a mother to them as well, making sure they were always taken care of. Riku, well, he's an orphan. He never knew either of his parents. Kairi is too. She was kind of adopted by the mayor, but at the same time she bounced from house to house, normally ending up in ours…" He went on like this for a while, talking about his friends and what they did at school normally, as well as explaining the finer points of blitz ball to her, which she understood the rules, but not the tech. He finally gave up, saying he'd show her if he ever took her to Destiny Islands.

He went on to talk about the attack on Destiny Island by the Heartless, surprisingly not having to explain very deeply how they were created or how they were destroyed. He talked about the many friends he'd made along the way in his journey, mainly Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey, as well as the many enemies, like Ansem and Maleficent. It took a bit to explain how people like him and Donald could use magic without a tome, but he did it. He also promised to show her when he was feeling a bit better (or when she'd let him out of bed). Then he began to talk about the incident at Castle Oblivion and how he was tricked by Namine and the Organization. He talked a little about Roxas, not really sure about what to say.

He got into the battle with the Nobodies and who the Organization were. He kept talking about it until he finally got to the Battle of The Thousand Heartless. He stopped there, unsure of how to proceed. ****I can't tell her about that. She'll think I'm some sort of monster. ****"Sora?" He looked up at her, a concerned look on her face. "You alright?"

"Yeah, just… it's a bad memory." He said, smiling reassuringly.

She smiled back, squeezing his hand lightly. "We can stop here for now if you'd like. But I do expect the rest of that story sometime. Understood?"

He gave a mock salute. "Yes ma'am."

She giggled again as she looked at the thin wall of the tent, noticing the sun was setting. "By the gods, have we really been talking for that long?" As if to answer her question, Lissa poked her head in and said dinner was ready, looking at their joined hands and smiling. They both pulled their hands away, their faces dark with embarrassment. "Well, um, I'll, uh, help you to dinner."

"Uh, yeah, thanks. Hey, Lucina?"

She had stood up by then, trying to find a crutch for him. She looked back to see him standing up slowly. "Sora, sit back down. I'm trying to find you a crutch so-" She gasped audibly as he hugged her.

"Thank you, for caring enough to worry about me."

She hesitantly wrapped her arms around him, placing her face against the dip between his collar bone and shoulder. "And thank you, for listening."

They pulled away from each other, not really caring about the blush on their faces. Sora smiled down at her and she smiled up at him. He finally reached behind her and grabbed a crutch, starting for the door only to hold it open for her. She curtsied and walked through, Sora close behind as they made their way to the mess hall. Sora thought about what he was going to say, but decided not to worry about it. Lucina just smiled at him as they walked and Sora was having a hard time not staring as she walked in front of him. ****Man, she's something in this light. Wait. What?****

** **Sora and Lucina's relationship has leveled up to level C.** **


	4. Battle on the Seas

Sora breathed a happy sigh as the salty sea air filled his lungs, bringing back memories of him, Riku, and (rarely) Kairi going out to sea with some cobbled together raft.

* * *

_"Hey Riku, you sure were going to be able to get to another world with this?" Sora asked as he tied down the last rope for main sail, watching as it billowed in the wind._

_Riku looked over at Sora as he waited for the raft to get far enough out that he could put their handmade rudder in the water. "Not sure, but we'll find out, won't we?"_

_"You two realize this is a terrible idea, right?" Kairi smarted off as she kept their food basket's stable._

_"Come on, Kai, where's your sense of adventure? You can't say you aren't curious as to what's out there?" Sora said as he took his signature pose, his arms tucked behind his head. The brunette male looked up as he saw the sky beginning to darken, the first drops of cold water hitting his face. He began wondering if Kairi was right as he looked back at the slowly shrinking shore._

_"Storm had to roll in now, huh?" Riku said pessimistically. "Sora, roll up the sail and grab an oar, Kairi, you too." Even back then, Riku was a natural leader. Sora got to work quickly, rolling up the sail as fast as he could while Riku used their momentum to get turned around. Kairi watched the sky as she pulled out her oar, paddling in time with Sora as the waves became choppier. The rain was coming down in a thin sheet now, making the shore harder to see until they began getting closer._

_"I don't like saying I told you so-" Kairi started._

_****"Liar." ****Riku and Sora said together._

_The red headed girl glared at both of them before screeching as a large wave struck the raft, carrying her off with it._

_****"KAIRI!" ****the boys shouted as Sora jumped over the side after her._

* * *

Sora yelped as he felt a weight hit his back. He looked back to see Cynthia, Lucina's little sister hanging on him. "Hey, Sora! What's up?!" She said, or shouted, cheerfully.

Sora just smiled at the energetic, but rather air headed pegasus knight. "Not much, Cynthia. Just thinking of home."

"Well, Mom says guys shouldn't think too much cause your brains'll burn up." she said, not realizing how offensive that could be to the wrong person.

Sora just chuckled and patted her head. "I'll keep that in mind."

Cynthia bounced away to check on her steed, Sora smiling lightly as he watched everyone moving around on deck. The former Keyblade user had been with the Shepherds for near to a month and a half. He had told them, not in as much detail as he had Lucina, his story. What he was, what he had done and what had happened to bring him to Ylisstol. After his story, it was silent. Even Cynthia remained quiet. Marcus stood as Sora began feeling a bit nervous.

"I think we can all agree that Sora's story was defintely different from what we had expected, but we must remind ourselves not of his outlandish origins, but that he not only saved one of our own, but that our own origins are all radically different from each other. I'd sooner believe that Chrom would turn into pegasus and fly over the wall of Regna Ferox before I would question Sora's integrity." The tactican picked up his beer stein, holding it up to the hall. "I say we let the past be the past and we give thanks to Sora for saving Lucina and to Naga for ensuring he lived through whatever accident brought him to us."

Chrom stood and raised his stein up beside his friends. "To Sora!"

****"To Sora!" ****the Shepherds shouted, lifting their drinks as well. Sora lifted his own, sticking to juice. His reasoning was that in his world, he wasn't old enough to drink. He toasted with the rest, drinking down the fruit drink. He had just barely stopped himself from laughing as he watched Lucina's face screw at the bitter taste of her ale. It was had to believe she was nearly two years older than him.

The day after all that, when Sora was able to peel himself out of bed, Chrom and Lon qu tested him again. He still wasn't able to beat Chrom, but Lon qu found that the young man had a level of skill that easily rivaled his own. Sora had told them that he could use magic, but he didn't tell them how. Lucina already knew, but even she hadn't seen it yet and Sora had convinced her to keep quiet about it. He did find it distressing a bit that he couldn't use his white magic any longer.

As he didn't give them any show of his magic, they naturally put him into the best fitting class they could. Swordmaster. He decided that he'd be happy to wear the usual Swordmaster uniform, with his own touches, of course. The colors of it match the outfit he wore during his Mark of Mastery Exam with the x symbol of the x-blade on his chest in silver threading. He didn't much care for the swaying sectioned cape, but he did have to admit, it tied the outfit together.

Sora sighed once more in content as he looked around a bit more. The warm sun on his back, the sea breeze gently kissing his skin. His blue eyes scanned the ship for one person in particular, finding said princess currently puking over the railing of the ship. He and walked over to her. "First time out to sea, Lucy?" He said with a laugh.

The blue eyed, rather pale looking, princess looked over at the brown haired swordsman. "First, don't call me Lucy, and second, yes. If people were meant to be at sea, I'm sure we'd have gills and fins."

"Ya know, there was this one place I visited..." he ducked under a quick jab from an angered Lucina, the rocking of the boat causing her to trip into her intended target. Not a moment too soon as something flashed over Lucina's head, striking and killing the soldier behind her. The feathered end of an arrow stuck out from his chest. Him and Lucina looked at each other quickly before jumping up, Sora calling out to everyone, "We're under attack! We're under attack!" as Lucina ran to start ringing the alarm bell.

The ship became a live with movement as the Shepherds ran for cover, a hail of arrows striking the deck of the ship as everyone got to cover, many running to hide behind Kellam and the other knights/generals of the group, the arrows bouncing off or breaking on their armor and shields. Sora hid behind the mast, pulling Cynthia against his chest, her pegasus ducking it's head and curling up as the hyper girl tried keeping her calm. Lucina hid behind Kjelle, the young woman happily standing against the deadly tide of projectiles. Many of the Shepherds that weren't prepared for the battle to come ran below deck, leaving only twelve to fight above them.

The arrows finally stopped, the sound of wood on wood echoing across the deck as boarding planks landed on both sides. Battle cries mixed the sound of explosive magic thundered out as the Valm soldiers clashed with the Shepherds. Sora rushed forward, catching a trickster off guard before pulling Rune from it's sheathe, the blade slicing through the man's belly, said man trying to hold himself together before a viscous spinning kick from the swordsman knocked him over board.

Sora made peace with what he had done and what he would have to do. Nobodies like Xehanort weren't very different from humans, humans just left remains. He had told himself for so long that they had lost what made them human, but no more.

Sora felt a powerful rush of air behind him, seeing Cynthia on her flying steed. Sora cheered her on as they stormed the rival ship, Marcus and Morgan just behind them, magic erupting from their hands as they downed the long range fighters that could bring Cynthia and her steed down. Sora attacked and held off the stronger fighters that could get in Cynthia's reach while she kept him from being stabbed by a spear, her javelin never once missing it's target. The tactician duo took out the stragglers. Soon, all that was left were two fighters, one a hero and another a sniper. And their sights were set on Cynthia.

Sora rushed in faster than the hero could react, shoulder checking him into the ships railing, kicking the sniper to throw off his shot. The hero had his sword knocked from his hand and off the ship, so he resorted to his hands to fight Sora, the swordsmaster sheathing his weapon in favor of blocking an overhand right. Time to make Tifa proud. His defending hand moved down to grasp the warrior's wrist, twisting hard enough a sharp crack rang out, the soldiers face screwing up in pain.

Sora knelt down, his hand flashing up in an uppercut, the whole of his body weight behind it. He felt the mans head snap back as he was lifted off his feet and off the ship. A searing pain in his hand told Sora that was a bad idea. Okay, it's definitely broken now. Damn it, that was stupid! He saw a shadow on the ground behind him, a sword swinging down. He rolled to the side, the sword cleaving through the air where he had been not more than a few seconds before. He gripped Rune's hilt, ready to fight when blood sprayed from the Trickster's mouth. He fell forward, a javelin imbedded in his back.

Sora gave Cynthia a thumbs up and she returned it before twin bolts of lightning ripped past them, killing two more hero's running up to the deck. Marcus rolled his eyes as Morgan cheered at having saved her friends. Sora just chuckled nervously.

Elsewhere, Lucina and Inigo fought like hell on the other ship, the mercenary guarding for the princess as she cut the warriors down one after the other. Inigo's parent's, Gaius and Olivia, fought off on their right while Chrom, Sumia, Kellam, and Kjelle held their positions on the docking bridges, the knight and general on the left with the great lord and his light flier and the right plank. Lucina ran a barbarian through, running with him on her blade before pinning him to the mast, pulling her sword free and turning to face her next opponent. What she saw made her eye twitch. Inigo was facing the spear end of a pegasus knight. What enraged her was the brilliant blush on the knights face. Inigo was flirting with the enemy, literally!

The pegasus knight shook her head and lunged at the mercenary, Inigo jumping out of the way with the grace of a dancer. Mid-jump, Lucina vaulted off his back and onto the flying steed. The pegasus knight fought hard, trying to dislodge the princess, but failed, blood coating the white fur of the steed as both it's rider and it's unwanted passenger were bucked off. The knight coughed weakly, trying to pull Lucina's Falcion from her chest. The princess stood, hand on the hilt of her weapon. "I'm sorry." She pushed it in deeper and the knight's face froze in pain before falling into the eternal calm, Lucina gently laying her head back, pulling her sword free.

A scream from the other side of the ship caught their attention. Lucina's heart stopped as she saw the ships captain advancing on her downed sister. "Time to meet Naga, little wench!" He lifted his tomahawk over his head, ready to end the young pegasus rider. As it would seem, Sora wasn't just good at saving Lucina. He swung down from the aft end of the ship, both his feet slamming into the general's chest, lifting the heavy warrior off his feet and into the captains wheel.

The sailor roared as he stood and swung down at the swordsman, Sora grabbing a second sword from the deck, crossing the baldes in an x, the blade of the axe striking the middle of the blades hard, but stopping all the same. The Keyblade user pushed up his weapons, knocking the axe up and making an opening, one the teenager happily took. Sora rushed in past the man, his blades following each other, one after the other, as Rune ripped through his opponents armor and his other blade followed across the opening in his armor, slicing through the skin of the general's belly.

The man cried in pain, his cry quickly changing to a violent roar. Sora had hit the mark, but not deep enough. The Keyblader jumped back out of range, prepping for the counterattack sure to come, only to gulp down bile as he saw the warrior pull out a warhammer. Metal clashed against metal as the warhammer effortlessly shattered the discarded sword Sora had grabbed, a sickening crack following. The fighter's arm hung limp at his side, his shoulder and humerous shattered. The pain had the warrior seeing stars, his vision fading in and out. All he saw was the red of the man's armor as he lifted the hammer, ready to make the finishing blow.

A blow that never came. He froze, his hammer falling out of his hand and to the side as the golden and silver tip of Chrom's Falcion ripped through his chest. Chrom pulled the sword free, spinning and decapitating the former captain as to end his suffering. Sora fell back, feeling a pair of arms catch him. He could hear his name, but it sound so far away. He wasn't dying, he'd already done that, but now the pain was too much for him to handle. He cooed lightly at the warmth that began to spread through him. His vision cleared a bit, looking up to see Sumia with a staff in hand as the light flier healed him.

He looked at who was holding him as his head was laid in their lap, somewhat suprised to see his hand being held by Lucina while his head was held by her sister. He gave a final cry of pain as his arm set into place, the pain quickly vanishing. He sat up, Cynthia hugging him tightly as Lucina joined them. "Thank you for saving her Sora. Thank you so much." The elder princess said tearfully.

Cynthia didn't need to say anything, her death grip was enough. But, of course, she did. "Sora, that was so cool how just swung in and kicked the guy! You were like a storybook hero saving a damsel in distress, which you kinda were I suppose, minus the storybook thing. Then again, from what you told us of your adventures..."

"****CYNTHIA, BREATHE!" ****everyone shouted, the princess taking a deep breath before giggling and giving her savior another hug.

Chrom knelt down a bit, offering Sora a hand up, the boy taking it happily as he stood. "You've saved both my children now, Sora. You have my thanks. But, I am curious as to how you learned to use two swords like that."

"Well, it's what a hero does, right? And, I may just show you some time. Maybe our next sparring session." Sora said with a smirk, a quiet giggle being heard behind him. He turned to see Lucina giggling at him. He smiled. "Nice to know all it took for you to get over your sea sickness was your sister nearly getting killed and me getting hurt." A hard punch in the arm silenced the troublemaking boy.

Marcus decided now to make his presence known. "Well, it's hard to say you're a swordmaster then, Sora." All in attendance stared at the tactician strangely, the man putting his hands up in defense. "What I mean is that you don't fight like a swordmaster. You fight more like a... Hmm... what's a good word for it?"

"A twinblader." Sora looked at Lucina strangely, as did everyone else before Chrom began laughing.

"A twinblader, I like it! What say you, Sora?"

The young man hummed a bit as he thought it through. "I think I like it too."

"Then Sora," Chrom clapped a calloused hand over his friends shoulder. "I hereby grant you the class title of Twinblader. Carry that name with honor."

Everyone on deck cheered for a few moments before...

"Hey guys!" someone shouted, everyone in attendance, drawing their weapons and turning to the offending voice, a voice belonging to Kellam. The general sighed. "About time. I've been standing here trying to get your attentions since Sumia started healing Sora."

Sora leaned over to Morgan. "Was he really there the whole time?" Her answer was a shrug and a confused expression. Sora shuddered a bit at the thought of someone that big being so quiet.

"There's something below deck that you all need to see!" The soldier turned and began running to the stairs leading to the galley, his fellow Shepherds looking at each other and shrugging before following. They got below deck, losing sight of Kellam again, the only indication they were going in the right direction was Kjelle standing in the doorway to an area just under the captains quarters.

They walked in, Chrom and Marcus first, before the party froze. Sora, Lucina, Cynthia, and Inigo were in the back, so they couldn't see anything. The crowd opened as Marcus and Chrom ran through them, Sumia running into the room, her staff in hand. Sora ran in and froze dead in his tracks, his sky blue eyes meeting a second set of the same shade. His heart was in his throat and his mouth became as dry as the gorge in the Pride Lands. It can't be...

Sumia's staff glowed brightly as she began healing the numerous wounds the man had, his once vibrant blonde hair now matted with his own sweat and blood. The whip wounds on his back were deep, bloody and infected as if he had been tortured for days, maybe weeks on end. A tail the same shade of gold as his hair lay on the floor beside him, ragged and broken looking as if it had been stomped and crushed. The wounds on his chest were worse, though those were closed and deeply scarred. It was hard to tell if he was even human with the severity of the damage his body had been put through. His arms were held straight by chains clasped to his wrists, the once proud man forced to his knees.

Even though his face was beaten and dark with dry blood, it easy to see his boyishly hadsome features, though they were mature in their own right. If he could stand, he'd of been about the same height as Sora, the same build as well. That is if he was healthy. His ribs showed under the torn teal vest, showing how little nourishment he'd had. The only thing that showed that he couldn't be broken was the brilliant, defiant look in his eyes, almost as if they issued a challenge.

Lissa, Libra, and Maribelle rushed past Sora as he stood staring at the man, who only chuckled. "Enjoying the view, kiddo?" The warmonk's axe cleaved through the chains that bound the prisoner to the wall as the other two healers got to work.

"Sora, what's wrong with you?" Inigo said, shaking the swordsman from his stupor, who then surged forward, pulling the man to his feet as the healers shouted at him to put the other man down.

"Who are you? What's your name?" he shouted over the various staff users.

"You ask weird questions, kid."

"Just answer me, dammit!"

"Zidane!"

Sora's eyes widened as he let the man go, stepping back slowly. "That... That can't be."

The man popped his neck as his wounds slowly healed. "Well, it is. My name is Zidane Tribal, ladies man, master fighter and-"

"Theif extrordinaire. I know who you are." Sora said quietly, Lucina walking up to him and looking at him strangely.

Zidane looked at him for a moment longer. "Well, if you know who I am, it's only polite you tell me who you are."

Sora gulped hard, every fiber of his being screaming at him to strike this man. "Sora Alexandros. My mother's name is-"

"Garnet." Zidane said, his shoulders dropping. "I can't believe it." He stepped forward, lifting a shaking hand to press it against Sora's cheek, the young man's face never changing from it's enraged expression. "I thought I'd never see you again. You... You look so much like your mother." Sora narrowed his eyes. "In a good way."

Lucina decided it was time to speak up. "Sora, who is this?"

Zidane looked at the princess, than back at the young man in front. "I see the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree."

Sora's fist clenched tightly at this statement. "He's my father." The thief smiled brightly, hugging his son as tightly as his now frail body would allow, but was confused when he recieved nothing in return. "Confused? Don't be. I said you were my father, that doesn't mean you're my dad, Zidane." Sora pulled out of the man's grasp, turning and walking out of the room, Lucina looking back and forth at the two men before giving chase after Sora.

Everyone in attendance stared at Zidane, who just stood glued to his spot before he chuckled mirthlessly. "I guess the first seveteen years of a kids life is more important than I realized."

** **Several hours later...** **

Sora roared as he swung his wooden sword, decapitating another practice dummy. The ship had landed and Chrom decided they'd set up camp before pressing further. He'd setup several different patrols to keep the camp in constant movement as to discourage any attacks. There was to be a different patrol at two hour intervals all day, no slack in guard allowed as they were on enemy soil. Those that weren't on patrol were training, fortifying, eating, or resting for their turn on patrol.

Sora was up next after Zidane, Severa, Cordelia, and Lon qu returned from their patrol. He was going with Marcus, Ricken, and Frederick. All three of them had told him he needed rest, but he refused, offering instead to spar with one of them if they wanted. They all said no. He decided he'd train alone then, his anger not letting him sit for more than a few seconds.

After his wounds were healed, Zidane and Chrom spoke for several hours alone, the exalt walking from his tent smiling with the theif, now assassin, in tow. He informed everyone that Zidane would be joining them from that point on. This, of course, upset Sora greatly. He wanted nothing to do with the Genome, angry at the fact that he carried his blood. So, to keep his temper under control, he took his aggression out on his dummies.

Zidane had been told to take a few more days rest to get his strength back up, but the man said if he sat on his ass too long, he'd never get off of it. Something him and Sora shared that the boy unwillingly had to accept.

His boot connected with the midsection of one, shattering it as he twisted, the wooden blade cleaving another in half. "Sora." He turned to see Sumia standing behind him, a pie in hand and a worried expression on her face.

Sora plastered on a fake smile, hoping to keep her off him for a bit longer. "Hey Sumia. What's up? Who's the pie for?"

"What's got you so worked up?" She said, setting the pie down, her eyes never leaving Sora.

"What do you mean? I'm not worked up. By the way, that pie smells amazing." he said, still smiling. The fighter had always known he was an awful liar, a trait he obviously didn't get from his father, so he had learned to try and divert the conversation elsewhere.

The look on Sumia's face told him it wasn't working. "Sora, I'm a mother of two, or I will be I guess, and my husband is constantly working himself into the dirt, so I can tell when someone's lying to cover themselves." She sat down at the table, patting the chair beside her.

Sora's smile finally failed as he sighed, trudging over to the seat she had patted and sitting in it. "Okay. Yeah, I'm upset. I spent seventeen years of my life believing my father was dead and that he would never be part of my life, sixteen of which I didn't even know his name. I accepted that I'd never actually find him and here he is now, just expecting me to accept him outright."

"I don't think that's what he wants, Sora." Sora looked at elder woman, finding it hard to believe that she was only a few years older than him. She was far more mature than most of the women he knew. "I know it's not really my place, but if you'll listen, I'd like to tell you what I think." Sora nodded and Sumia gave a soft, kind smile. "I think it's less he wants you to just accept him and more of him wanting you to give him a chance to be accepted."

Sora opened his mouth to retort, but he couldn't. He couldn't think of a retort. "Why not give it a chance? This may sound kind of cold, but what do you have to lose?" the queen said, her smile never wavering. She stood up, pulling out a small knife and cutting a small slice of her pie out, holding it out to the young man. "Here. It might help you think if you have something in your belly. You haven't eaten today." He opened his mouth again, Sumia just giggling. "Mothers know everything, don't you know?" She took the rest of her pie and walked off to find Chrom and her children, the original recipients of her baked good, leaving Sora to his piece of pie and his thoughts.

"Ughhhh..." Sora's head slammed into the table next to his pie. He looked at the slice of pie, sighing lightly before sitting up and picking up his piece, taking a bite of it. He shuddered a bit at the deliciously decadent taste. It somewhat reminded him of his mother's cooking after a long day at school or training. Mom...

Sora finished his pie and stood up, walking to the front of the camp. He wasn't a moment too soon as Zidane and his team had just gotten in, Severa giggling like a schoolgirl while Cordelia and especially Lonqu glared at the assassin. Sora quirked a brow and Zidane just shrugged. Sora took a deep, sharp breath, his anger peaking as he was beginning to rethink this, but he held on. He looked around for a moment before he found Owain fixing up his sword. "Owain!" The overzealous 'hero' looked up at the sound of his name being called. "You mind filling in for me on patrol? There's something I need to do."

Owain began shouting something about 'the descendent of heroes needed in a time of crisis', so Sora took that as a yes, smirking a bit at his comrades antics before turning to face his father. The elder blonde man looked at his son strangely. "Follow me." Sora said before turning and walking off towards the tents. The only thing that told him Zidane was following was the sound of his light footsteps behind him.

The two got to his tent and Sora held the flap open, Zidane walking in and taking a seat beside the bedroll. "So what's up? If you wanted to deck me, you would've done it out there."

"You're right." Sora turned and clocked the genome hard in the face, the theif rolling into it easily and coming back up in a boxing stance. He may have avoided the brunt of the strike, but his face was already beginning to swell. Sora's mind began to calm as he had gotten quite a bit of pent up rage from that one strike. "I don't wanna fight you, Zidane. I wanna talk." Sora sat across from the Genome, his cerulean eyes locking onto his father's. Mom really wasn't lying when she said I had his eyes. "I wanna know why you left."

Zidane's eyes widened before he started laughing, straightening back up and walking to the flap of the tent to leave. "You walk out now, you walk out of my life." Sora said, meaning every word of it. And Zidane knew it.

The genome turned around and sat back down, not seeming to care that his son had just rung his bell, honestly having expected it. "Tell me something, Sora. Did you come here by choice?" Sora shook his head. "So what's makes you think I did?" Sora was honestly thrown by this. He'd always thought that if his father showed back up in his life that he would've just run out on him and his mother, but now, he wasn't so sure. "I ended up here the same way I'm sure you did. Through the Corridor of Darkness.

It was about eighteen years ago. Me and your mother had just gotten married a year beforehand when she told me she was pregnant with you. I was... terrified, overjoyed, and a bit overwhelmed. If that's how I felt, I can't imagine how Dagger felt." Sora gave a weird look at this name. "Ah, Dagger was what your mother called herself before she became queen." The Keyblader nodded lightly as his father continued. "Honestly, I didn't think we were ready to be parents, but ready or not, you were coming. We lived in Radiant Garden where I trained with Leon and Cloud in my spare time. About five months into her pregnancy, Dagger started having horrid nightmares of dark creatures destroying our home. We all just pegged it as being hormones until the day the Heartless attacked.

We fought hard, your mother giving us aid when we needed it, but for the most part Tifa, Aerith, and Cid protected her. I would not lose her... or you. I made peace witht he fact that I was going to be a father and gave up being a thief. I went out of my way to go out and buy baby clothes, cribs, then go through the hell of putting them together."

"They can't be that hard."

"Oh, you have no fucking clue. Those things are designed to piss people off." Sora laughed at this, Zidane joining in for a few moments. "You have your mother's laugh. Trust me, that's a good thing." His expression fell as he got back on topic. "I'd already made your mother my whole life. Now, I had something else to protect as well. And, even now, I'd kill myself if I thought it would save you some pain." The sincerity in his voice told Sora all he needed to know. This man had all the love and protective nature of a father, but had never had anyone to give it to. Until now. "The Heartless tore Radiant Garden apart, me, Leon, and Cloud only barely able to hold them back. Until, this massive Heartless appeared and struck the ground, a massive fissure opening up. The fissure kept spreading until finally, it reached it's target. Your mother. Or, as the case maybe, you.

I don't know how I got to her in time, but I did. I grabbed your mother's hand and held on as tight as I could, pulling her up and throwing her over the side to Cloud. I stood up to run to her as I felt the ground under my feet crack and give. Next thing I know, your mother is screaming for me and I'm falling into the darkness. Hours passed before I made it through the portal and I ended up here. I spent a few years trying to find a way home, trying to find a way back to you, but I was dead in the water. There was nothing. I resigned myself to trying to stay alive. I couldn't come home if I was dead, so I started stealing again. It went pretty well until a few weeks ago. I broke into a nobles house under the pretense of being a tutor and I was found. The captain of that ship was put in charge of my punishment, so I became his personal whipping boy, literally. Then, you all saved me."

Zidane looked at his son straight faced, the boys face awestruck. He had no idea... And he had assumed... Sora looked down at his lap. "You get one."

"Huh?"

"I said you get one." He said louder. "One chance. If you prove yourself to me, if you prove you really wanna be a part of my life, then I'll accept you. But you only get one. Got it?"

Zidane gave Sora the same smile that made the Keyblader so famous. "I'm only gonna need one." He then smiled brightly and looked at his son a bit closer. Sora looke at him strangely and leaned back away from him. "Well, since I'm here, why don't we talk about your girlfriends? You gotta have a few stories for your old man."

"I-I've never had a girlfriend." Sora said, a light blush crawling across his face.

Zidane's eyes widened. "You serious?!" Sora nodded and the genome shook his head, his tail twitching. "Are you sure you're my kid?" Sora glared at him hard and Zidane simply chuckled. "Well, I know you are your mom's. That's her glare. Come on, you gotta have some kind of girl in your life. Maybe that cute little princess, huh?"

"Yeah, we're not close enough for me to be comfortable about this." Sora said outright.

Zidane nodded, not hurt by that fact. "Well, we will be. Get some rest. Owain had dawn patrol." The genome stood and turned to leave. He got to the flap before turning and walking back in, hugging his son again. This time though, the boy returned it, happily hugging the man who brought him into the world. "You have no idea how happy I was when I realized it was you, son." He pulled back to look at the brunette boy. "No matter what happens, never doubt that I love you. Never doubt that I love your mother. Never doubt that I want us to be a family, and never doubt how proud I am of you." He gave the shocked warrior another before walking out of the tent, yelling back to him quickly. "And I expect you to tell me what's been going on at the homefront next time, kid!"

Sora stood in shock before he felt something wet on his cheeks. He touched his face, realizing that it was coming from him. He was crying. What shocked him more was that Lucina decided she wanted then to see him. "Lu-Lucina, uh, I, uh." He cleared his throat after wiping his eyes. "... How much did you hear?"

"Basically everything. I got in right about the time Zidane started telling his story." Lucina angled her head as Sora tried to hide his face. "Sora, are you... Are you crying?"

He took a shaky breath before speaking. "I spent so long wondering how my father would feel if he met me. Wondering how I would feel if I met him. I guess I'm a bit overwhelmed."

Lucina closed the distance and hugged her friend tightly, said friend shaking a bit before he buried his face in her shoulder, sobbing hard. They weren't tears of sadness, no. Sora was unimaginably happy. It was just too much for him to handle alone. Lucina held him as he cried, awkwardly sitting so that she could be comfortable as well. She smiled, happy to see her mother had gotten through to him. I guess being able to see through people is one thing I get from Mother.

They spent the next few hours just talking or picking on each other, Sora normally just poking Lucina randomly and her swatting his hand. This world was harsh and cold, but this. This was something the Keyblade Master-to-be loved.

Little did he or anyone in their merry times know, this was merely the calm before the storm.

* * *

Sora and Chrom's realtionship leveled up to C-rank

Sora and Sumia's relationship leveled up to C-rank

Sora and Cynthia's relationship leveled up to C-rank

Sora and Zidane's relationship leveled up to C-rank

Sora and Lucina's relationship leveled up to B-rank

New skill aquired

Savior: When partner is in critical, unit will take control and has twenty percent higher chance of dealing critical damage.

Class Change: Sora has become a Twinblader.


	5. Once a Friend, Now a Foe

Sora yawned as he walked, his shoulders slumped. It was barely light out as he trudged out of camp with his team, Sumia, Kjelle, and Inigo, Inigo upfront with Sora and Kjelle while Sumia brought up the rear, providing a bit of lookout.

"Come on, Sora, yes, it's a sin against nature to be up at this hour, but look at the bright side of the situation," Inigo said cheerily.

"I swear to whatever god you worship, Inigo, if you do not give me a decent 'bright side' to this, your ass will see the painful side of my boot." Both girls giggled, an odd sound for Kjelle to make, as the mercenary laughed nervously. Sora was not, had never, and would never be a morning person. He hated, HATED, being woken up from a good sleep, especially since last night had been the best he'd had in months, including the time before he ended up in Ylisse. Though he still blushed at the fact he'd fallen asleep with his head in Lucina's lap.

He yawned again as they continued their path until Sumia gasped. Sora looked back to see her pointing down the road they were traveling at an odd-looking shadow. It was small and seemed to bend at the knees with a hunch in it's back. It had beady yellow eyes that seemed to be searching for something.

A Heartless!? Here!? Sora mentally shouted as he tore after the creature, sword drawn. The monster didn't see him until it was too late. It's beady yellow eyes turned to see him just as Rune sliced through it, severing it's head from it's body. He sheathed the weapon and watched as the body of the creature faded away. He turned around and looked back at his patrol, smiling, but what he saw almost made his heart stop.

What stood where his patrol once had was… Darkness. That's it. Just pure darkness. Sora began to hyperventilate as he started looking around, realizing that the entire was now gone. He looked down at his feet to see a massive glass looking picture of himself. The pictures of his friends ringed it, as they normally did, but this was somehow different. He was in the middle of the portrait, his arms crossed over his chest with a keyhole in the center of his arms, just over where his heart was.

Donald, Goofy, and Mickey's pictures were on one side of the picture while Riku, Kairi, and, surprisingly, Lucina were on the other side. The x symbol for x-blade could be seen under his arms as the picture of him was wearing the custom made 'Twinblader' uniform Chrom had made for him.

Purpose.

****What the hell? ****Sora whipped around quickly, his hand immediately finding Rune's hilt as he pulled it from it's scabbard. He found yet another thing that caused him to freeze. He was looking into a pair of sky blue eyes, the same shade as his, but these belonged to a young man who stood across from him. The boy had sandy blonde hair that stuck up in odd places, a short sleeved hoody, denim shorts and a pair of red shoes.

"Roxas." Sora said, awestruck. He knew Roxas was a part of him, but never expected to see the Nobody.

The boy smiled at the young swordsman. "What's wrong, Sora? Have you lost your purpose?"

Sora looked at him strangely. "My purpose? What are you-" The warrior stopped for a second as he felt something moving behind him, somersaulting forward as a blade passed over his head. He twisted mid roll to face his attacker. "What the-?!" He was staring at himself holding Oblivion.

The mirror image had some mild changes to it though. For one, his hair black as night instead of chestnut brown and his eyes were deep shade of red. The biggest difference was that there was a large heart shaped crest in the center of it's chest.

The creature sneered at Sora as it lunged forward at him almost too quickly for the boy to react, only having enough time to bring Rune up to guard against the jarring strike. The double cackled as it pushed through, throwing Sora to the edge of the platform. He drove Rune into the ground to keep himself from sliding any further, ducking under another strike and rolling away as the Heartless swung down at him.

The mirror image cackled again, cause Sora to shudder. "What's wrong, kiddo? No Keyblade? Awww, poor wittle boy."

Sora growled a bit at the creature as he stood back up, the mirror image rushing him again. Sora smirked as he ducked the initial strike, lunging up with a right uppercut. He felt it connect… somewhat. The fake Sora backpedaled last second, the punch grazing the left side of his chin.

Even if it was just a grazing blow, it was still a hard strike, disorientating the fake and causing it to stumble a bit. It gasped as it's opponent struck it with a low body blow, the breath driven from it's chest as Sora began striking it again and again, right, left, right, left, uppercut.

The former Keyblade user pushed his double back with each blow until they lined up with where he had jammed Rune into the floor. He struck the Heartless with one last hard left before taking off for his sword. He just within arms reach of it when he felt something slice through his shoulder. He cried in pain as he hit his knees, looking up to see the blade of Oathkeeper where he had been a moment before.

He turned his head to see what had thrown the light colored Keyblade at him, his eyes widening as he saw Roxas pulling the sword back. The Nobody gripped the weapon tight as he put it over his shoulder, much the same way Sora does.

"About damn time you helped me a bit." The fake Sora said, wiping his face clean of the little bit of blood that Sora had beaten out of him.

Roxas smirked. "Can you say you wouldn't enjoy watching Sora kicking the tar out of me? Even a little bit?"

The copy smirked. "Fair enough."

Roxas looked down at Sora as he tried standing again, pushing back to the floor with a boot to the back. "See Sora, this what happens when you reject one of your halves. They both begin to reject you."

The Nobody and Heartless lifted their weapons and swung down.

* * *

Sora woke with a grunt, feeling something bouncing on his gut. He looked at his perpetrator, seeing it was the odd dragon girl, Nowi. "Hey, hey, Sora, wake up!" she said, a heavy pout on her young-looking face.

"I'm up, I'm up! What is it?!" Sora snapped as he tried pulling a few breaths in, his gaze slightly disoriented from his sleep, his shoulder throbbing.

Wait, why does my shoulder hurt? It was a dream… Wasn't it? What the hell am I saying?! No, it wasn't just a dream!

"HEY! LISTEN!" Nowi screamed into his ear.

The young warrior cried out as he covered his ears, laying back into the bed to get away from the little banshee._ Jesus Christ, no wonder Gregor never argues with her!_ "What?!"

"Lucina already left! There's a big fight going on in town! There's a guy tearing us apart out there with a huuuuge sword, a red outfit and these things that cover his eyes." she cried.

Sora froze as he realized his friends were fighting out there without him. _There's no way… Dammit!_ "Go get any other Shepherds you can together. If they aren't at the camps defenses, have them follow after me." Sora said as he picked up the little manakete, setting her down beside him. He threw his blanket off, running over to his armor, his under suit already on as he had gotten used to wearing it while he slept. He strapped Rune to his hip and Shroud, the blade Chrom had made for him to represent his new class.

Nowi jumped back to her feet, running out of the ship barracks with Sora following a few seconds after, sliding his pauldrons, then uniform on. He'd made a small addition to his uniform. As his chest held the x for the x-blade, his back now had the crest of Ylisse on it. He ran across the deck of the ship as fast as he could, jumping over the edge and taking a Dark Knight that was trying to make it to his own forces to provide some reinforcement off his horse, Sora taking the knights own sword from the scabbard he had on the side of the horse and throwing it with enough force to penetrate the thinner part of the enemies chestplate.

Sora shouted, spurring the horse onward towards the town, several of the enemy forces turning to see the twinblader coming behind them before he cut them down, only killing two of them as he went. The rest he simply disabled. He got into the room and realized quickly that the horse was a bad idea, so he hopped off, slapping it's rear to get it out of the line of fire.

He turned just in time to see Marcus fly out from behind one of the houses, slamming hard into another, the stone cracking beneath him. Sora rushed in between the tactician and his attacker as he saw a massive katana coming down over his head, crossing Rune and Shroud over his head, the blade for Shroud shattering. Dammit, that was a brand new sword. His fears were confirmed as he looked into the face of his attacker.

"Auron?"

The undead swordsman lifted a knee, driving it hard into Sora's midsection, a mixture of blood and spittle flying from his mouth as Auron grabbed him by the top of his hair, throwing him into Lucina and Inigo who had been coming to try to help them.

The warrior shouldered his weapon and turned towards the three younger fighters. A ghost of a smile flashed over his face as he saw the former Keyblade user. "Well, I can't say I expected to see you here, Sora."

"Auron, why are you fighting for Walhart!? You're not a bad guy!"

"That depends on your definition, boy. I have my reasons for fighting in this war on the side I'm on. I will reach my goal," Auron slid his arm out of his jacket, half of it falling away to show the skin tight suit he wore under it. "even if I have to tear my way through you to do it."

Sora growled as he stood back up, pulling his friends to his feet. "If that's how it's gonna be," The twinblader slid the hilt of his broken sword back into it's scabbard, taking his old stance once more. "then I'm done playing."

Auron only chuckled as the mercenary and lord got his side, taking their own stances. "I'm not going to enjoy killing you, but I will enjoy knocking that cocky attitude out of you, Sora." He tensed, ready to lunge at the three as they got ready for the assault as a massive bolt of lightning tore through, striking the otherworldly swordsman hard in the back.

"Pay attention, Auron, I'm your opponent, not the kids." Marcus said as he got back to his feet slowly, his silver sword in hand his tome in the other.

The Ylissean warriors cheered as it seemed that someone had finally scored a hit on Auron, but their cheers died quickly as they realized what had actually happened. While Marcus had hit him, the Thoron bolt left nothing more than a burn mark on Auron's back. The warrior turned his head to look at the tactician, pushing his sunglasses up a bit to cover his dark eyes.

Sora's heart dropped as he realized what he was planning. "Marcus, move!" Too late, Auron whipped his body around, throwing his katana at the tactician. Marcus only had enough to move to the side a bit before the huge blade pierced through his robes, armor, and shoulder, pinning him to the wall.

The man screamed in pain as he struggled to get free, Auron turning away from the three younger warriors and walking towards Marcus to finish what he started. Marcus looked up at him, a defiant glare on his face. "You're a powerful warrior, and you show no fear in the face of death. You will die with your honor intact." The warrior said, ripping his sword from Marcus's shoulder, pulling another cry from him before lifting the blade, aiming to cleave Marcus down the middle, the three either too battered or horrified to do anything to stop him.

He brought the blade down hard, but not into Marcus. Blood flew into the air as Morgan threw herself in front of her father, Marcus's pupils shrinking as he watched his youngest be all but cleaved in half, the girl falling to her knees in front of the two men. Auron silently regarded the girl before backhanding her hard into the wall, Lissa screaming as her daughter was sent flying.

The tactician roared as he thrust his sword at the man, Auron having only enough time to sidestep so that Marcus didn't bore the blade into his skull, his cheek being sliced open as he elbowed the wound in Marcus's shoulder, throwing the warrior back, before blocking a thrown tomahawk from Lissa, the crazed mother-to-be launching herself at the warrior, catching the tomahawk midair.

Libra ran past the pair, Auron unable to stop him as it meant Lissa would take his head off, immediately checking for vital signs. They were incredibly faint, Morgan more than half dead as Libra began trying to heal her.

Sora had had enough. His rage had him seeing red as he rushed Auron from the side, not realizing Lucina and Inigo on his sides. The undead swordsman growled as he saw help coming to the woman's aid, even if she didn't. He roared and swung his blade in a wide arc, the blade turned so the back would strike them. All four warriors were thrown back as Auron began to collect his power into his blade.

"Bushido: Dragon Fang." The swordsman jumped high into the air, coming back down with his blade being jammed into the street, a blast of white flames all four of the warriors for several seconds before dying down, Lissa's already tired body finally giving out as she joined her husband and daughter in unconsciousness. Sora and Inigo stood back up, Lucina, slumped unconscious against a wall.

Sora's body hurt. This was worse than when he woke up from his crash. He couldn't remember ever being so wounded in his life. His arms felt like lead and his legs felt like jelly. Even past the pain ringing in his mind, he could hear Auron laughing. "And here I thought you were done playing, Keyblade Master. Where's all the power you had before, eh? I'm disappointed in you, Sora.'

"SHUT UP!" Sora screamed as he and Inigo launched another attack on the swordsman, said swordsman smiling again. Inigo jumped ahead of Sora, cartwheeling with ease over a wide swing, thrusting out with one hand, making Auron raise his sword to defend. Inigo jumped back, letting the older warrior realize it had been a ruse. He turned just in time to see the former Keyblade user slash at him with his and Inigo's swords, the mercenary having thrown his sword to his friend as he cartwheeled. Auron roared and with a speed they hadn't yet seen, backhanded the dancer into a home beside Marcus.

Sora felt the blade slice through Auron's leg, the warrior grimacing in pain. Sora roared as he thrust forward with Rune, aiming for the kill. Then, he hesitated for a fraction of a second, all the fights in the underworld they'd had together flashing through his mind. It was enough time for Auron to grab the blade of Rune, stopping the sword at the cost of his hand being sliced open before pulling his own sword up, running Sora through.

Sora's world began to go black again as one thought went through his mind._ Dammit, when am I going to fight a battle that doesn't end with me getting nearly killed?_ He coughed up a mouthful of blood as he slowly tried to grip Auron's weapon, his fingers being sliced open as the warrior ripped his blade free, his eyes closed as he couldn't look into the face of the young man he'd come to see as a comrade die by his hand.

Sora slumped to his knees, never hearing Zidane's roar as he fell to his side, his eyes losing their light as he fell into darkness.

* * *

Zidane, Chrom, Sumia, and Maribelle came running around the corner of a home, having told the inhabitants of the town to get as far back into their homes as they could, just in time to see Sora be impaled by Auron's blade.

The genome froze for a moment as he watched his son's blood flow to the ground, even more so as the sword was pulled from his belly. He gave a roar of indignation, launching himself at the undead warrior before Auron could turn to react, catching him with a hard right fist, launching the man into the wall with enough force to shatter the stone. The thief turned assassin pulled his short blades out, flipping them in his hands a few times before rushing forward at the recovering swordsman.

Auron, for his part, was shocked to see another warrior from his world, especially one he'd trained. He lifted his weapon as dual over head strike, their blade ringing out loudly. "Good to see you to, Zidane. Been some time since we've done this."

"Enjoy it now, Auron, because I promise you, it won't happen again!" Zidane roared again as he shoved Auron to the side, the swordsman sliding several feet back as the genome somersaulted in midair, driving his blades down hard enough to force Auron into a minute crater. Auron shouted as he swung out, dislodging Zidane as the warriors hair and skin began to change color, turning to a light pink.

This doesn't look good. Auron thought as he readied himself for incoming attack, his reaction time not nearly fast enough to catch his old student as he rushed past him, slicing through his belly. Auron cried in pain as Zidane rushed by again, slicing open his back. This continued for several more seconds, one slash after another as Auron tried to get his bearings back.

Zidane slid to a stop behind his old fencing teacher, slamming the pommels of his blades together and locking them. "Now for my next trick," He increased his speed once more as Auron turned to face him, once more getting a large gash in his thigh. "FLY AWAY!" Zidane cried as he flashed around the undead warrior, finishing with one massive attack that sent Auron flying back, slamming hard into one of the towns walls and through it.

The shepherds didn't if the fight was over yet, but for Zidane, it was. He was breathing hard and his body was too heavy to move again. He hadn't used that technique in years and he definitely wasn't as young as he used to be. Unfortunately for him, Auron still had some gas in his tank as he pulled himself from the rubble.

Chrom watched in horror as the warrior pulled himself up with his sword. "What in the name of the gods is he?" A flash of movement caught his eye as several of the men they had been fighting before getting back here fell, whatever it was making a beeline for Auron.

The warrior noticed and lifted his blade into to knock a thrust that would have easily gone through his heart as he locked eyes with a young woman with long black hair. "I take it you're Say'ri. Your brother warned me about you."

The woman only glared at she jumped back, ready her weapon for another attack. Auron lifted his weapon as well, only to notice that the shepherds were amassing on his side and he didn't have the strength for another Overdrive. He growled lightly before reaching into his jacket, pulling out a small ball and throwing it at his feet, causing a cloud of smoke to erupt and blind all in attendance. Once they stopped coughing and the smoke cleared, they saw that Auron was gone. Zidane growled as Chrom walked up to the young woman, asking her who she was and whatnot.

He tuned it out as he turned to see Maribelle trying hard to save his son's life, Brady beside her with his staff in hand. Both healers were having a hell of a time as Sora was bleeding out as they tried to close the wound, Libra finished with healing the unconscious Morgan and starting on Marcus.

Lucina moaned in pain as she could feel her wounds being healed by the familiar sting of a vulnerary. She opened her eyes to look at her healer, being slightly shocked to see a badly wounded, disheveled Inigo. Bloodstained his already red hair and one of his arms was obviously broken as he fought the pain, trying to help the princess.

"What happened to you, try hitting on another married man's wife?" She joked lightly, causing the dancer to chuckle with her for a moment before his smile fell, looking away from her. She looked at him, confused until she saw Zidane walking slowly past them.

The warrior princess looked over at his destination, her blue eyes widening in terror as she saw the pool of blood and the body it flowed from. "Sora!" She jumped to her feet, trying hard to get to him as Inigo tried pushing her back to the ground, afraid she'd reopen her wounds.

Zidane knelt down beside his dying son, the boys brilliant blues now lifeless and staring into nothing. The genome felt warmth of tears running down his cheeks as he watched the two healers freaking out as they tried in vain to heal Sora, the wound closing, but amount of blood loss even more than that of the blood loss when he crashed in Ylisse. The warrior's tail flicked anxiously behind him as he took Sora's hand, giving it a squeeze as he silently prayed to whatever god held power over life and death to give him back his son.

The two finally stopped their efforts, Inigo's arms falling limp as Lucina rushed forward, picking Sora's head up and putting it into her lap, stroking the males hair as if trying to wake him from a sleep. "Please, Sora. Please wake up. You're the first real friend I've had in so long, please don't go." She sobbed, her mother and father, hugging her from behind as she cried, Zidane joining her.

"Wake up, dammit." He whispered as he looked down into his son's face. "WAKE UP, YOU LITTLE BASTARD! I JUST GOT YOU BACK, I AM NOT LOSING YOU AGAIN!" He fisted his hands together, pressing hard to his chest and pumping. "Lucina, on the third push, put your mouth to his mouth and breathe in." She opened her mouth to say she didn't understand, but Zidane had already begun. "Now!"

She didn't argue, blushing lightly as she pressed her lips to Sora's, breathing into him a couple of times before Zidane began pumping again. Once more, she breathed into him, watching from the corner of eye as his chest rose a small amount, Zidane putting his ear to the boys chest, listening for a heart beat. He smiled and laughed almost deliriously. "He's alive." The shepherds present, including the newly inducted Say'ri, cheered.

Lucina hugged her unconscious friend as her parents and sister hugged her. Zidane chuckled lightly as he watched the scene, noticing something moving out of the corner of his eye. He looked down at what it was, his eyes widening as he tried hard not to laugh, everyone else in attendance being shocked by the sight as well.

"Uh, Zidane?" Marcus started.

"Yeah?"

"Is that a-"

"Yeah. Yeah, it is.''

"Are we going to give him shit about it?" Inigo said, his mother smacking him upside the head without looking away.

"Oh, relentlessly."

* * *

Sora moaned loudly as light shined in his eyes, his brain screaming in pain as he tried to calm the pounding. His hand went to his chest as he slowly woke, his eyes flying open as he felt something odd. He sat up in bed to see if it was actually there. A large, pinkish scar extending from the middle of his belly to the bottom of his chest. Memories of his 'fight' with Auron flashed through his mind.

"Nice to see you up, Sora." A familiar voice said, the boy looking up to see Inigo standing in the doorway of the tent, holding a bundle of new bandages and a sword, the hilt easily discernible as Shroud's. The mercenary set the blade to the side, putting the bandages on a small table beside the bed Sora was on, helping the twinblader get more comfortable. "You really need to stop almost dying, Lucina is beginning to lose her mind."

Sora chuckled lightly at the thought, his smile slightly sad. "How worried was she?"

"She cried. We honestly thought you were gone."

"I made her cry?" The twinblader asked, shocked to hear that Luci actually cried. Inigo nodded as Sora's shoulders slumped, groaning as he fell back into the bed. "I guess I'm gonna have to make it up to her, huh?"

"Ya'huh." Inigo said with a chuckle. He patted Sora's shoulder before standing to leave. He stopped at the flap. "Hey, Sora.'' The warrior looked up to see Inigo extending his hand to him. Sora took his hand with a smirk. "Anytime you need a bit of advice in handling the fairer sex, give me a shout."

Sora chuckled as he pulled his hand back, watching as Inigo left, his smile falling as he watched Zidane walk through the flap, everyone's favorite princess behind him. The genome sat down beside the boy, remaining silent for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. The younger warrior looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "Oh my god, I'm not even gonna make a joke about it. Look at your side."

Sora mouthed the word 'what', then froze when he felt something brush against his side. He slowly turned to see what was hitting him. Lucina looked like she was about to pee herself as Sora's face to turned to shocked horror. "WHY DO I HAVE A FUCKING TAIL?!"

* * *

Riku sighed as he stepped out of the Typhoon, heavy bags under his eyes. He looked up to see his fiancée walking up to him. He shook his head, already knowing what she was going to ask. She smiled sadly, pulling the Keyblade Master into a gentle hug, the swordsman shuddering lightly.

He had spent the past month and a half looking for his best friend, going from world to world searching for some sign of Sora, but never finding anything. Garnet was slowly losing herself to her grief, having already lost Sora's father, but now having to deal with the loss of her child. Kairi and Riku owed everything to the Keyblade Master to be, so they spent every moment they had looking or being with Garnet.

"There's no where else he could be, Kairi. I've searched everywhere." Riku said, his voice breaking.

The red head gently kissed her man, tears pricking at the edge of her eyes as she laid her head against his chest. "We have to keep the faith, Riku. If not for us, then for Garnet. She needs to know we believe he's still out there."

"But what if he isn't? What's if he's gone, Kairi?"

"He isn't. I can't explain how I know, but I do. My heart tells me he's out there. We'll find him."


	6. Paralogue II: Dresses, hair, and Insomnia

Sora's eye twitched as he began to weigh the pros and cons of lobotomy via soup spoon. He sat with Marcus, and Chrom, all three having been brought there by their wives, daughters, or friend and his friends sister. Where were they? A little dress shop in the middle of the harbor town. It seems that Walharts forces weren't very well liked, even on their own soil, so much so that as thanks for driving the soldiers out, the shepherds were being given free merchandise of their choices for the day and free lodging at the inn for the wounded that weren't helped by the clerics or priests. Several other girls had been asked if they wanted to come, but they were either training, whining at their father for a bit more money (Severa), or mapping a route to the Mila Tree to rescue some woman named Tiki (Say'ri).

Why was he here instead of resting after getting a gaping wound through the chest or training to beat Auron? Because Lucina finally stopped laughing at his tail long enough to let how she really felt show, screaming at the boy loudly before breaking down into tears, said boy gently pulling her into a hug.

"I don't want to watch anymore friends die. I know I can't do anything about death, but I can at least stop one friend from being stupid. Promise me you won't take an unnecessary risk again."

"Luci, I-"

"Promise me!"

Sora was slightly shocked to see how much resolve her blue eyes held, smiling softly as he hugged her again. "I know you want me to say 'I promise', but I can't. Being reckless is part of who I am."

Lucina just shook her head with a smile. "I may not have known you as long as Riku or Kairi, but I feel like they knew that from the first time they met you." She backed away from the boy as he chuckled lightly. "Fine, but as payment for scaring me, you have to do something to make it up to me."

Sora looked suspiciously at the princess. "Okay, what do I have to do?"

She giggled lightly. "Oh, I'm not gonna spoil the surprise. Just be at the front of camp in three days."

And with that, the princess stood and walked out of the medical tent, the swordsman watching her go with a terrified expression on his face.

After that startling conversation, Sora and Zidane had a long talk as to why he had a tail as well as teaching him how to move it. It seems that even though his genome genetics weren't as prominent as Zidane's, they were still there and all the extra stress with his multiple NDE's* caused them to finally surface, like a sort of coping mechanism. With his tail, Zidane said that Sora's metabolism, agility, and strength would all increase steadily for the next few days. He also gave Sora a somewhat terrifying warning. 'If you thought puberty was bad enough already, just wait, kiddo. With your tail coming as late as it has, things are about to get twenty times worse.'

After this little tidbit of info, Sora was quickly grilled for information of his own, as well as Zidane, about Auron. The Shepherds were freaked to say the least, but they were hopeful. Zidane drove Auron off so he could do it again. Their hopes were dashed when Zidane said he believed if him and Auron fought again, his old fencing teacher would kill him. Auron's body was still young and the use of his Overdrive meant his powers were as well. 'If it came to an all out slug fest, which, with Auron, it will, Sora's the only one here who could keep up. He'd tear me apart. I got lucky before, but Auron won't let that happen again.'

Sora sighed as he leaned down, his tail twitching anxiously, Marcus patting him on his back. "Don't worry Sora, it'll get the good part soon." The tactician said with a smile as he leaned back, Sora looked over at Chrom, confused, the lord only shrugging with the same smirk. He then noticed the girl's talking had gotten quieter as they had moved deeper into the store.

"Should I even ask what the good part is?" Sora said as he was quickly silenced by Lissa's head poking around the corner.

"Alright, now try to contain yourselves, boys." Her head went back around the corner. "Ladies, you ready?" The response was two rather excited yes's and a somewhat nervous 'I suppose' "Oh come on, Luci, you look amazing!"

"Aunt Lissa, please don't call me that." Lucina whined as Sumia and Cynthia giggled.

"Alright, hmmm…. Cynthia, you get to go first!" Lissa said as Cynthia's giggles were cut short, the girl crying out as she was pushed out of the changing area in front of the men. Her red face accented the light pink dress she was in. It was simple in design, coming down to just above her ankles with some frills over her feet. The skirt flowed with the air, a see through veil laying over the top of the pink fabric. The upper portion was white and pink, the midsection constricting a bit as if it were it's own girdle without choking the life out of the rider. The straps were covered in well made fabric roses up to her clavicle and wrapped around the back of her neck.

The blushing rider twirled a bit to show off the dress, showing the open back it gave. A bit risque for their world, but she made it look good with how they had her hair done, a loose bun against the back of her head, but Sora felt something was missing or off.

Marcus cheered his niece on as Chrom made a joke about having to sharpen Falchion to keep men off his 'little pegasus princess', causing the young warrior to cover her face in embarrassment. She peeked through her fingers, her bluish-gray eyes searching for the nearest exit.

Sora was trying hard not to lose it as he watched the usually overly hyped rider turn into a embarrassed high school girl. He stood up from his spot, Cynthia's face slowly turning redder as he got closer. The men behind him looked at him oddly before he stopped. "You look great, better than great really, but one thing is out of place. You're a pegasus knight. You are an absolute form of freedom in the face of adversity. So," He walked behind her reaching up and snatching the clip that held her hair. "You should show it."

She gasped as she felt her dark blue hair fall down, the strands tickling her back a bit. She yipped when she felt Sora grasping her hair, not hard enough to hurt, but it got her attention. "Sora, what're you-?"

"Just trust me. I've done this a few times. My friend, Kairi, asked me to help her get ready for prom, a big dance our… academy held every year for the older students. And dates. And times when she'd just go to town."

Cynthia simply nodded while Lucina began thinking on what he just said. 'Kairi, huh? She's that friend of his he saved from Maleficent, along with Riku. But… why does it sound like it hurts to remember helping his friend?'

Sumia and Lissa cooed, looking over the side of the screen as Sora finished up. Her hair was down in an orderly fashion, two locks over her shoulders, framing her face. At the bottom of her hair, a light pink ribbon was tied in a bow, keeping her hair from fluttering too much without actually restraining it. What was the most interesting thing about it was that there was a feather stuck into the bow.

Cynthia reached back to touch the ribbon, feeling the feather and realizing where it came from. "Sora, how did you get one of Skye's feathers?"

The boy put his arms behind his head and smiled as he walked back in front of her, his tail flicking around. "She was shedding after the battle. I just picked it up, figured I could use it for a quill or something. Then I saw that ribbon and your dress and it clicked. How great of a way to tie the ensemble together. You like it?" His answer was a bone crushing hug from the overzealous rider.

"Thank you. For the ribbon, the hair, for saving my sister. Thank you." Sora blushed lightly at this before hugging his friend back.

"You're welcome." He looked up and caught sight of a pair of pretty blue eyes under a head of dark blue hair, noticing the missing brown haired and blonde haired heads. Lissa and Sumia must have gone off with their men as Sora couldn't hear them either. He smiled and winked at Lucina, noticing the bright blush that crossed her cheeks. He pulled back a bit, wiping the few tears that threatened to fall. "You're as bad as Luci with the crying thing. Go on, go show off how pretty that new dress is on you."

Cynthia giggled a bit before nodding and running out of the store. "Ya know, I like your sister, she's a good friend, but I feel like I need to take a nap after hanging out with her."

"Most do."

The Twinblader turned back around to see Lucina hadn't come out yet. "So, where did Sumia and Lissa go?"

"They snuck around and dragged my father and Marcus out of the shop when you started playing with Cynthia's hair." There was a hint of laughter in her voice.

Sora scoffed a bit. "I wasn't 'playing'. I was arranging."

Silence ensued after that comment, making Sora wonder if he said something wrong. "If I asked you to, would you arrange my hair for me? I always have trouble with it." She asked, walking around the screen.

Sora's smirk turned to a look of serene awe. "Wow…"

Lucina blushed heavily at this. "Wow what?"

"Just… You." She was wearing a sky blue dress, very similar in design to her sisters, but a bit more conservative as the back wasn't open from how the straps went straight over her shoulders. It put emphasis on the more feminine aspects of her body that her usual armor hid, and damn, did it, while it was still classy enough to wear to a high end party. Sora realized he was staring at the princess, his face burning up as he blushed and looked away, Lucina giggling a bit. "Lissa wasn't kidding when she said you looked amazing."

Her face was just as red as she approached the warrior, said warrior turning back to see her within arms reach. He cleared his throat before speaking. "T-turn around if you want me to… arrange your hair." She nodded lightly and turned around and sat down after Sora pulled a chair over for her. "W-well, you are a princess, even if you are a warrior first. Cynthia's heart belongs to the sky and her friends, so her look was a bit more free than yours would be." He took her hair in a gentle hold, like he had her sisters, twining the strands and locks together into a loose braid. He'd done this for his mother as well, the few dates she'd gone on over the years, so he had enough experience to be confident. And Selphie had paid him to do hers more than once, but he kept that to himself.

Lucina stiffened a bit as Sora ran his fingers through her hair, pulling out the snags as he worked. "You haven't been sleeping well." The princess stiffened up again. "Are you having nightmares again?"

"Again?"

"When you and I fell asleep the day Zidane joined up, you woke me up because you were rolling around. You looked scared, like something was trying to hurt you." Lucina grew silent at this, her head tilting down a bit.

"… I've been reliving what happened with Auron. How easily he tore us apart. How quickly he almost ripped you away from m- us. It makes it hard to sleep."

Sora finished her braid, the princess gasping as she felt her friends hands on her shoulders, her face burning up. "Come to my room at the inn tonight. I think I can help." This, however, did not help the blush on her face. She turned and narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion, the boy only smiling. "Don't worry, I'm gonna pull an Inigo. I just wanna help."

He pulled away, but not before pushing a few locks of hair forward to frame her heart shaped face. He put a mirror in front of her and she gasped. It was like she was looking at a different person, but she knew it was her at the same time. Such an odd feeling.

Twin locks of her blue hair hung in front, gently framing her cheeks and chin, her bangs just barely hanging out of sight of her baby blues. The braid he'd been working on was laid almost lazily over her shoulder. It wasn't tightly woven, but it was strong. At the bottom of the braid, a light blue ribbon held her hair in place. How odd that a different arrangement for my hair could make me look so different.

"You look amazing."

"… Thank you." The princess eeped as she was pulled up and out of her seat, looking back with a red face to see her friend giving an almost blinding smile as he stood in his trademark stance.

"Well, about time to go show off that new dress, don't you think?" Lucina simply smiled at him and hugged him again, kissing his cheek before walking out of the store.

* * *

Why? Why did this have- "Gahhhh!" Sora fell to his knees holding his splitting skull, feeling like something was screaming, as if being tortured in his own mind. The sun had dipped down behind the horizon and the Twinblader didn't know if his comrade in arms was coming by or not. He had snuck a cot out of the medical tent and into his room at the inn for himself. He'd figured out that they both slept easier when the other was nearby. Whether it was specifically Lucina that helped him sleep or not, he didn't know, but she was having as much trouble sleeping as he was.

As he was getting his cot set up, planning on giving her the rather comfy bed, his head began to split with the screaming sound only he could hear. Something was happening to him as he could feel his muscles bulging and then shrinking as an odd energy ran through him and it scared the hell out of him. He couldn't feel his hair turning midnight black or his eyes changing to bright, glowing yellow.

Images of his fight with Auron kept flashing into his mind, a deep growl building in his chest his own shadow began to rise from the floor. Sora realized this and began trying to suppress it, his body burning even more as he fought back. He could actually recognize the scream now. It was that other Sora's voice, deeper and slightly distorted. The way it sounded, the voice wasn't just of pain, but grief as well.

Sora's mind was going numb from the effort of suppressing the rising energy. He then fully understood what was happening to him. His anger at having lost to Auron had woken something inside that hadn't come out since the battle at Hollow Bastion.

No, no, please no!

He felt a pair of hands on his shoulders, but he couldn't remember anyone being in the room with him. He looked to see Lucina, a horrified expression on her face. Sora cried again as his mind came under assault again.

Lucina was at a loss, she had never seen anything like this before! She had dealt with and even seen the Risen born, but this was more than what she knew how to deal with. She pulled her friend to her chest, rubbing the back of his head as he fought… what ever was going on. Sora gave another cry of pain as he gripped his head before he laid back against her, panting hard, his hair slowly turning back to it's brown color. The princess had no idea what was happening, but it looked like the episode was through so she simply held her friend.

It was several minutes before Sora had rested long enough to speak. "Sorry… Luci. I don't…"

"It's alright. But I think it's about it's time you tell me what that was."

Sora slowly sat up and moved to his cot, grabbing a blanket. "If I knew, I'd tell you. You can have the bed, if you want. Good night."

Lucina's eyes narrowed before she walked over to the cot and ripped the blanket off her friends body. "H-hey, Lucina!" She grabbed him by his ankles started dragging him out of the cot "What the hell are you-!?"

He was quickly silenced when he was tossed onto the bed. Damn, she's stronger than I thought. His face turned bright red as she laid in bed beside him. "Um, why?"

"You won't tell me, you'll deal with me sleeping in bed with you."

"… Not that I'm complaining, but how would your dad feel if he saw this?"

"Marcus is the one waking us up tomorrow, my father has dawn patrol." Sora tried to glare at the girl, but he quickly remembered he had trouble staying angry at her. He felt her arms wrap around his torso as she pressed her face into his chest, his face growing hot. His arms wrapped around her almost on instinct. The pale gray nightie she wore wasn't revealing, but it felt thin under his calloused finger tips, and it didn't help the fact that he was only wearing his breeches.

He felt her nuzzle into his chest, the boy only now noticing the bright blush on her face. Damn him for being so well built and damn me for being a cuddler! "So… your idea to help me sleep was just to share your room with me?"

"U-uh, yeah, that was the idea, but I didn't expect to be sharing a bed."

She looked up at him with a deadpanned look. "You do realize every time we fell asleep together, it was in the same bed, right?"

Sora didn't answer, he just focused on the wall as he tried to avoid eye contact. He slowly felt his eyes getting heavy, as did the princess. The young prince reached over his bunkmate, turning the oil lamp off. "Goodnight, Luci."

"I told you not to… Goodnight, Sora." She said, finally conceding to the nickname.

And after that, the world melted away and the two fell into a deep, restful neither had known since before leaving Ylisse even. Sora didn't realize he'd buried his nose into the long dark blue tresses that adorned the princess, and she didn't know that she had a happy smile stretch over her face, pulling herself closer to the kindred warriors chest.

* * *

The sun began to rise other the horizon, bathing the port town in light. Said light filtered into the inn room that a princess and 'prince' slept in. If anyone besides the princess's paternal uncle had walked in, they'd of thought… rather unclean thoughts.

Marcus, on the other hand, couldn't help but laugh as they screamed when he threw a bucket of cold seawater on them. "Mornin' kiddies!"

Sora glared at the tactician, his body still involuntarily shuddering. "You're fucking dead!"

Chrom was just returning from dawn patrol as he watched his daughter's best friend chasing his brother-in-law, sword in hand, shirtless and dripping wet, his daughter, equally armed, wet, and in her nightgown, close behind as both teens slung some rather harsh profanity at the tactician.

'Seems like I may get a grandchild after all.' He thought as he chased after the trio, trying to save his friend from the teen's wrath.


	7. Sacred Trees, Alarming Reveals

Lucina tightened the last strap of her new Great Lord armor, feeling the leather and metal press against her chest. She blushed lightly as she realized she'd have to loosen it a bit in the near future as her bust had grown again. She'd always been a bit jealous of Kjelle or Severa as they were more… developed than her, but now she knew why they complained about their armor never fitting right.

I wonder how Sora feels about girls like them… Lucina's face began to heat up before she violently shook her head clear. Stop it, stop it, stop it! She had to get her mind off that subject, now. Maybe her father would be willing to spar before they set out for the Mila Tree. She removed her armor and dropped it off at the armorers' shop before heading to the beach.

As the princess walked out of the inn, she started looking around the town. It was so full of life, you'd have trouble believing that a life or death battle had happened here just a couple of days ago. Lucina smiled lightly as she walked through the street to the harbor, finding her uncle reading an ancient tome he'd been given as a gift. The princess shook her head, remembering that despite how much of a prankster Marcus was and how ferocious he was in the heat of battle, he was first and foremost a bookworm.

The tactician looked up and smiled at his niece, moving over a bit on the log he currently sat on to give her space, the princess taking the offered seat with a small 'thank you'. "I was actually looking for someone to spar with. You wouldn't happen to know where my father is, would you?"

Marcus shut his book, smiling up at his niece again. "Are you really looking for a sparring partner, or are you trying to get your mind off something?"

Lucina's response was clear enough in the rose color covering her cheeks. Marcus laughed at his embarrassed niece. "I don't know where Chrom is, but Sora just went off to spar with Zidane. Kjelle, Cynthia, and Cordelia followed after. Maybe one of them will practice with you." The tactician stood up and began to walk off, turning back around. "And why don't you stick close to Sora today? You could use some friendly interaction." He reopened his book, marking his end of the argument, walking back towards town.

Lucina's red face was so warm she was convinced that she was on fire, but she did as he suggested, an odd… emotion in her chest. It made her angry that Sora had gone off with not just her sister, but two of the shepherds most attractive women. She'd denied herself any real interaction with the opposite sex, so the feeling of jealousy was so new to her, she didn't honestly know what it was.

Her jealousy was shelved for curiosity once she heard grunting, though not the grunting she normally heard from Inigo's or Virion's tents. She poked her head over a rock and her eyes widened as she saw her sister sail through the air, landing hard on her back, the air driven from her lungs.

She looked up a bit more to see Sora in a barehanded fighting stance, his uniform top discarded and his well-toned body covered in a thin sheen of sweat and his old scars, Cordelia and Kjelle circling him like predators, neither of them in their armor either, wearing only enough clothing to say they had something on. Kjelle, being the first to rush the male, found herself on her back, the air forced out of her by a sharp knee to the gut before being shoved back, tripped, and clothes-lined.

Zidane stood the closest to the princess, his back to her as he watched his son fight the female warriors, his almost electric blue eyes not missing a moment. His golden furred tail flicked every so often behind his body, his eyes flicking with every movement Sora made, as if he was sizing him up.

Cordelia gave a battle cry as she launched herself at Sora, the young man ducking under her wild punch and sweeping her legs out from under her. He hopped on top of the red head quickly, rolling them into a grapple that ended with him on her back, his arm across her throat, braced by the other arm, and his hand on the back of her head in a tight headlock. Her face began to turn as red as her hair and she tapped his arm, the swordsman letting her go quickly.

Cynthia decided to get back into the fight, charging Sora from behind, the fighter not bothering to look back as he tilted his head and grabbed her fist. He swiftly elbowed her in the gut, slid his body into hers before lifting her up and throwing her into a now recovering Kjelle. The knight and pegasus rider groaned in pain before they scrambled to their feet, Cynthia attacking again, this time with a bit more finesse.

She ran forward, unleashing a spinning kick aimed at her friends head, said friend leaning back out of range only to be tackled by Kjelle, the two quickly turning it into a grapple fest in the sand, ending with Sora grabbing Kjelle's arm at the wrist, wrapping his legs around her arm, her elbow just above his waist line. He lifted his hips into the knights arm, his legs keeping her arm in place and her head down. She cried out and tapped his leg, after which Sora released her and turned his attention to Cynthia.

Lucina couldn't believe what she was watching. She was watching her friend beat up her sister and comrades! And yet, something didn't sit right. Even if he was really good, one of the girls could have run back for help if Sora really had gone traitor, so why didn't they? And why was Zidane just watching? Is he teaching Sora something? Or was Sora teaching them something? She had never seen that in any sparring match she'd ever watched. Then again, she'd also never seen anybody take one three experienced soldiers at same time before either.

Cynthia rushed in, throwing punch after punch, watching as Sora slipped each shot, earning her own gut punch. As she bent over, Sora picked the smaller teen up and onto his shoulders, swinging her down at the beach under them, slamming her hard. To finish it up, Sora simply sat on her. She tapped.

Sora helped the girls back to their feet with Kjelle simply standing on her own, and looked to the boy that had just been using them as punching bags, more or less. He smiled at them. "You girls got heart. But that can only get you so far. You need proper training to know where to put it. Not every fight can be finished with simple ferocity. I figured that out the hard way more than once."

Cynthia looked up at the elder male, hope clearly drawn on her face, almost as much Cordelia had, though it wasn't in her face. "So… will you teach us?"

Sora smiled and nodded. "I'll teach you what I know." All three girls cheered and Cynthia ran up and hugged him tight. If it weren't for the fact that everyone knew her and Inigo were in love, you'd of thought she had a crush on the boy from how she'd been acting the past few days. They finally quieted after Sora lifted a hand. "You'll be doing this the same way I did. Kjelle, you're good. Just put a bit of extra weight on your armor. As for you, Cynthia, and you Cordelia, you're about to gain a bit of weight."

They looked at him oddly before he tossed his uniform top to the present knight, the blonde shrieking as she was almost pulled off her feet, the strong woman having trouble holding onto the top. "What is this?!" She asked, struggling just to lift it.

The twinblader walked over and took it from her in one hand, slipping it back on before throwing the cape on as well. "Weighted training gear. Though that is lighter than what I used while I was training with Cloud, it's not much lighter. Wearing that gear every day, you'll see your physical strength increase almost immeasurably as long you also supplement it with basic strength training and proper eating. Less sweets, more fruit and meat. I'm looking at you, Cynthia. " The pegasus rider blushed a bit in embarrassment at that, earning some laughs from their audience. "I did this training back home and started again here after Chrom beat me. Without the Keyblade, I was helpless. I needed an edge, so I decided overwhelming strength could be useful to back up that training."

The women looked at him oddly, except Cordelia. "Do you have any more gear?"

Sora smiled and nodded. Kjelle looked at the other woman in confusion. "Now, wait a moment. How do we know-" A large rock flew by her head, smashing and shattering against a boulder.

They turned to see Sora with a shit eating grin on his face as he idly checked his finger nails for dirt. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"Nothing." They said in unison. He told them he'd have their gear sewn into their uniforms for them, but Cordelia offered to do it herself.

"Is there anything you can't do, Cordelia?" The red head blushed lightly and smiled. Sora smiled back, earning a glare he didn't know about from the watching princess.

What is he flirting with Cordelia for?! She's married!

"Sora" Zidane's voice rang out, catching all their attentions. The genome stepped down from the rock he'd been standing on, but not before looking back at the spying princess and giving her a quick wink that escaped the notice of the others. Lucina's face turned an even deeper shade of red at having been discovered, but she didn't move. She wanted to see where this was going.

In a flash, Zidane cleared the distance between him and his child, lifting his foot and planting it hard into the former Keybearers chest. Sora cried out as he flew back, slamming hard into the rock wall. The boy had trouble getting back to his feet, and by the time he looked up he realized that his efforts were wasted as Zidane grabbed him and hip tossed him into sand, rolling to mount before raining punch after punch on the defending warrior.

He rolled them backwards, kicking Zidane off him, the genome hopping to his feet and lashing out with a hard right, cracking the boulder he struck as the younger fighter just barely slipped the shot. "Your opponents will show no reserve, no mercy, so you can't afford to have any to give. These aren't Heartless or whatever you're used to fighting. These are living humans who think and fight like we do. So, be ready for anything." The elder mans tail wrapped around Sora's ankle, yanking his foot out from under him and slinging him across the beach. The boy gave a sharp scream as he was thrown, bouncing across the sand.

All Sora had to say once he got back onto his feet was, "I can use my tail like another arm?! Awesome!" He began flicking his own brown furred appendage as if to test it's range of motion as the girls, sans Kjelle, giggled. Even Lucina was having trouble not laughing at her friends antics.

Zidane only laughed at his son. "Yeah, your tail is pretty useful. Mines gotten me out of my fair share of jams." He wrapped his tail around his waist, chuckling as Sora did the same, his eyes flicked to where Lucina was hiding, the princess ducking down quickly. "Why don't you go back to camp? Sora, get them outfitted with some gear."

They all nodded and Sora lifted a fist, Zidane bumping his against it. It was nice to see they were at least getting along enough to not try and kill each other. As soon as they were out of sight, the genome smirked and flashed out of sight.

Lucina was left with her jaw hanging, looking around for the elder warrior. "You know, it's not very becoming of a princess to eavesdrop on her friends." She shrieked and turned to see Zidane sitting beside her, his arms tucked behind his head. In that moment, she really saw how much him and Sora looked alike. The thief smiled. "You got jealous when you heard Sora was alone with three other girls, didn't you?"

Again, her blushing cheeks were her answer. Zidane laughed loudly at this. "Like father, like son. Seems royals just like us."

"I-it's not like that! He's just a good friend!" she protested.

"I never said it was like that. I just said you like him. You gotta like someone to be friends." He answered with a knowing smile on his face as Lucina covered hers. He stood up and started to walk away. "Lucina." The still blushing woman looked up at the elder. "If something happens to me, take care of him. Help him find his way home." and with that, the genome walked off, leaving the shocked warrior princess to her thoughts.

Lucina had no words to describe what had just happened. She simply stood up from her position, adjusting her sword so that it sat comfortably on her hip and walking away from the area. She was so lost in her own world, she never noticed the Sora shaped wall she walked straight into. She yelped and fell backwards, landing hard on her rear, her eyes watering from hitting her nose.

"Oh, man, Luci, you alright?" He asked, bending down to help her up.

Lucina let herself be pulled up, remaining silent for a moment. She just stared up at her friend, seemingly lost in his sky blue gaze. She only realized she was staring when Sora's eyes began flicking to the side, as if looking for an escape. Her face turned bright red. "I-I'm fine! Really, I'm okay!" She shouted, flailing her arms around as she stepped back away from the Twinblader. Unfortunately, in her haste to get away she walked back into Lon-qu, who unintentionally pushed her back into Sora, knocking the teens over.

Luci groaned a bit as she lifted her head. She noticed something… off. First, the other Shepherds, not including her father or mother, were all staring at her. Second, her chest was warm and- "Ahhh! Something just-" At the feeling of something poking her, the princess finally looked underneath herself to see Sora nestled between her breasts, his hands sitting on her hips. Wait, if he's under me, then what the hell could be poking… me… If her face could get redder, she'd have exploded.

"Uh, Luci, this is not what you-" Sora tried to say, being muffled out by his friends surprisingly full chest, until…

"****YOU DAMNED PERVERT!"****

* * *

Sora trudged along the path, holding the ice pack he'd made for himself to his swollen cheek. He'd found that his offensive magicks were still effective, but had to be focused through a medium. As luck would have it, Rune made for an excellent medium. He also found out that his newest best friend had a monster of a right hook. "So, once more, it was a freaking accident!" He shouted at Lucina, the red faced princess looking away from him. "And besides, you bumped into me."

"I get it, I'm sorry, alright? Now drop it." Lucina said, glaring at the young man she'd strong armed into carrying her gear. "But, in my defense, it wasn't me 'standing at attention'."

Sora blushed and looked away this time, keeping his ice pack pressed to his cheek. Let's see you be a guy with a beautiful girls boobs shoved in your face. "I'm not apologizing."

"You little-"

"It's a natural reaction to physical attraction! It's not like I can control it!"

It suddenly got very quiet between the two of them. "Was that weird of you to say?"

"VERY! LET'S FORGET I EVER SAID IT!" Sora shouted, speeding up a bit.

Lucina picked up the pace as well, her face a brilliant red. "So uh, any progress with the whole 'father-son' bonding?"

She swore she saw Sora go visibly rigid at this. "Not really. I don't hate him like I used to, but I still can't see him as my dad."

"So, you're still on a first name basis?"

"Luci, think about it from where I stand. You spent your entire life believing your father was a master thief that just up and left you and your mom and you just so happen to luck into him after a freak accident sends you to a different world that you didn't even know existed. How would you feel?"

Lucina was quiet for several moments after that. "Angry, hurt… relieved." The princess smiled at her friend kindly. "Sora, you're bottling things up again. Talk to me."

He sighed a bit in response. "It's just… odd. I finally see what my mom has been talking about when she would say I did something like Zidane, and now I even have a damn tail. It's just… a lot to take in in such a short span of time."

Lucina giggled a bit. "Well, to be fair, the tail kind of suits you." Sora cast a glare at her, only making her laugh more before he joined in, hefting her bag a bit higher. "You know, I think you've made up for it all now. I can take my bag back." Sora was all too happy to pass her the bag. Despite his increased strength, he was very sore after his multiple beatdowns today.

"Hey, Luci."

"Hmm?"

"What if your world doesn't change?" Lucina looked at him oddly. "There's a theory in my world that says history can't be changed. If it is, then you're creating an alternate world, not actually changing the one you're familiar with, or something like that. Master Yen Sid tried to explain it, but to be honest, it kinda went over my head."

He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled lightly. But, he stopped short when he saw the look of terror on his friends face. "Luci?"

'Is it true? Is everything I'm doing… Everything we've all sacrificed… has it all been for nothing?'

"Luci!" Sora exclaimed, taking her hands and stepping in front of her, putting one of his hands on her cheek. She finally snapped out of her funk, looking up into her friends eyes. He smiled kindly at her. "Don't worry so much. Like I said, it's just a theory. It's not like it's true, it just might be. We can't live on mights and maybes."

Lucina smiled a bit and Sora felt her fingers curl around his. "Hey, sorry about scaring you like that. How about as an apology, I treat you to some sea salt ice cream?"

Luci cocked her to the side with the cutest confused look she'd ever given. "Sea salt ice cream?"

Sora let Luci's hands go, chuckling again. "Oh yeah, guess I forgot you guys don't have ice cream here. Well, don't worry. I may not be as good as my mom, but I've made sea salt ice cream before. It shouldn't be too hard."

Lucina giggled, starting to walk down the path again as they'd fallen a good bit behind. "I'd like to see that. For now, we should catch up." She said before running off.

"H-hey, Luci!" Sora said, rushing after her.

She giggled and ran harder with Sora catching up easily, the two laughing as they caught up.

* * *

"Whoaaa... I don't think I've ever felt so small…" Lissa said.

"It's so tall, I can't even see the top." Sora said, craning his head back to see up to the top, Basilio catching the boy as he almost fell backwards.

"Most impressive indeed... So the shrine hides all the way up in its branches?" Frederick asked Say'ri.

The swordswoman nodded. "Aye, sir. A great staircase inside the trunk leads up to it. However, the empire has closed off the only route to the steps. Or perhaps "roots" to the steps, I should say."

"No, you really shouldn't." Lucina said with a sweatdrop.

Sora snickered a bit. "Well, it looks like we have to do some 'weeding' before we get to Lady Tiki."

"Oh, gods, not you too." The princess said with a deadpanned look.

"I'll devise a strategy that'll allow us to 'plant the seed' of our victory." Marcus said, earning laughs from Say'ri and a high five from Sora.

"Don't encourage this!"

"Alright, that's enough." Chrom said, his voice deadly serious. "Marcus, we need to focus on strategy."

Marcus chuckled lightly as everyone gathered. "Lissa's right, we really need to pull that 'stick' out of your ass, 'dear brother'." Chrom rolled his eyes as his brother-in-law began the strategy meeting, but smiled all the same.

There were seven pairs in all: Lucina and Cynthia, Chrom and Sumia, Frederick and Maribelle, Marcus and Lissa, Zidane and Sora, Inigo and Olivia, and Severa and Lon qu. Sora was bit put off that his partner for the day was his father, but it made sense at least. He, Zidane, Lucina, Cynthia, Chrom, and Sumia would make up the advancing group. Marcus, Lissa, Frederick, and Maribelle would flank them on the left to keep reinforcements at bay, with Lon qu, Severa, Inigo, and Olivia on the opposite side.

"Our objective is obviously to take out their commander. Flanking teams, your job is to watch our backs and sides so the advancing team can cut their way up the middle, but if you have the chance to take the commander, then do so. We need this fight finished as quickly as possible to limit casualties. Only fight if you are confronted, understood?" The teams nodded to Marcus' words, readying themselves for the oncoming battle.

Sora stared up at the massive tree, sighing a bit. "Feeling jittery?" He turned to see his father standing behind him.

"A bit. I'm not exactly used to launching a fight myself. They always seem to find me."

"Yeah, it's a bit odd to be the aggressor. But, you gotta roll with the punches."

Sora chuckled a bit at that. "Mom used to tell me that all the time whenever I'd come home battered up and bruised after Blitz practice or after another fight me and Riku got into."

"Well, who do you think she heard it from?" Zidane said, the two laughing a bit before they started towards the roots of the massive tree. The rest of the attack party filed in behind them before they finally came to the area where the enemy lay in wait.

"Alright, break into your groups! We advance slowly, but as a unit! Let us show them the might Ylisse's Shepherds!" Chrom bellowed out, taking point with his warriors cheering behind him before they broke off. Zidane notched an arrow in his bow, ready for any units that may give Chrom or his wife trouble, a smirk on his face as Sora drew Rune, taking his usual stance.

The Shepherds gave a shared battle cry as they rushed the attacking force. The clang of metal on metal filled the sacred air of the Mila Tree, soon followed by the agonized screams of Valm's soldiers. What soldiers weren't picked off by Chrom, Sumia, Sora, or Lucina were felled by Zidane and Cynthia's surprisingly pinpoint, not to mention brutal, accuracy. Sumia did have her hands full, as she was the only healer in the party that wasn't off to the side with the reinforcements while also making sure her husband didn't get run through.

Sora pushed forward while Chrom and Sumia engaged a Hero/Sniper duo, shoving another Bow Knight off his aim on the Ylissean Queen by slashing his saddles strap and sending the rider to the underside of his now crazed steed. Zidane put an arrow in his chest just before the beast could kick him to death and another in a Thief's throat as he tried to get a sneak attack on his son while he fought a Fighter. Sora, for his part, killed the fighter with two quick slashes that severed an arm and tore his chest open. A bit more brutal than how he normally took a life, but he didn't have time for delicacy. He saw a Pegasus Knight that had gotten past the flanking team and was rushing his father from behind.

The boy unsheathed the newly re-forged Shroud, cocked back his arm, and launched it at the knight, running her through in the center of her chest and throwing her off her steed. "Nice shot." Zidane said, bumping fists with his boy.

"Not too bad yourself."

"Save the bedroom talk for after the fight!" Inigo screamed with a smirk, dodging a lobbed rock from Sora that just so happened to hit a Fighter in the head, dazing him long enough for Olivia to finish him.

Sora whipped around at the sound of a scream. A Trickster fell into the water with an arrow sticking out of his chest. "Keep your mind on the task at hand, Sora!" Zidane shouted, rushing forward and slitting another Hero's throat as he went for an overhead strike, his son close behind him.

Sora stopped dead when he heard a feminine scream behind them. He turned to see Cynthia trapped under the body of her beloved pegasus with an arrow sticking out of her shoulder as Lucina fought off a Hero that was guarding a Sniper. Their parents were locked in combat a ways ahead and couldn't get to them while the others were engaging the reinforcements that had just arrived. Sora turned back to his father, the same helpless look on his face. "Go, I'll cover you!" He screamed, turning back around and downing another Pegasus Knight and her mount.

The twinblader ran forward, slicing off the head of the Sniper before he could get a bead on Cynthia as she got out from under her pegasus' corpse, crying loudly as she held it's head. Sora got beside them, trying to pull her away. "Cynthia, you have to get back!" She fought out of his grip and laid over her steed again. He grabbed her roughly and turned her to him. "Look at me! You have to move! We need to get you out of here and to Lissa so she can heal you!"

The sobbing girl nodded lightly, grabbing her spear and javelin, the only things she had left of the mother she knew now. "Sora, where's Luci? We need-" A dull thud cut her off, her voice becoming strangled and weak.

Sora felt ice running in his veins. It was as if everything slowed down and the battle was put on mute. Cynthia stumbled for a moment before she fell to her knees, letting the elder male see the feathered end of an arrow sticking out of the center of her back. He ran forward to catch her letting her lean against him. He leaned her back without letting her weight sit on the arrow. "No, no, no, Cynthia, Cynthia, keep your eyes open! Keep your eyes open!" She was trying hard, but she seemed so tired. He looked to his side as he noticed Lucina, Frederick, and Maribelle fighting off to the side not too far from him. "HELP!" He screamed, getting their attentions.

Lucina went sheet white, jumping from root to root to get to them, Frederick and Maribelle following her lead. The elder princess took her sister from her friends arms, sobbing and cradling the girl close to her chest as Cynthia's blood stained her hands. Maribelle pulled out a a staff, the glow covering the downed pegasus rider.

They were all so intent on saving Cynthia, they didn't notice the knight running up behind them with a warhammer in hand. Nor did they notice Sora's eyes shift to glowing amber. He caught the hammer as it came down, crushing it's head in his hand, shocking all of them. The boy said nothing as he turned to the knight, grabbing him by his throat and lifting him into the air before slamming him into the water and through a root of the tree. Zidane noticed a dark aura rippling off Sora's body, his eyes widening as he ran forward to his boy.

"Sora!" He grabbed the now advancing and growling warrior, having trouble pushing him back. "Fight it, son! You have to fight it!" The assassin was thrown off as his son screamed, the dark aura erupting around him.

Sora never noticed the flash of light centered on his opposite hand, the black Keyblade, Oblivion, appearing in it. He roared and ran forward, killing almost indiscriminately as he cut down the soldiers of Valm. His friends watched in shock as their usually happy-go-lucky comrade turn from himself to a savage killing machine. Again, Sora never noticed this as he was no longer conscious. In fact, he was no longer there.

He gave a cold, chilling laugh as his hair changed from it's chocolate brown to pitch black, his amber eyes freezing the few men left in place as Chrom and Sumia confronted the enemy general. ****"Oh, how nice it is to breathe fresh air again." ****The dark warrior sheathed Rune, taking his natural stance with Oblivion in hand, the keyblade level with his head and his other hand outstretched just above his hip. ****"Make this fun for me. Show me your fear. Show me your anguish." ****He launched into battle, the screams of the warriors of Valm filling the air alongside his own demented laughter.

* * *

Sora groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, noticing he was no longer at the Mila Tree. He got to his feet quickly, looking around frantically. "Cynthia!" he screamed, searching for his wounded friend.

"She's not here, Sora." He turned to see Roxas walking up to him, a sad, remorseful look on his face. In his hand was a Keyblade that Sora had never seen and he held it differently than Sora did, backhand style.

"Roxas. Why am I here? They need me out there. Send me back!" screaming as if Roxas had the power to do so.

The blonde shook his head. "Why do you keep calling me that? My name isn't Roxas. My name is …"

Sora looked at him in confusion. "What? I didn't hear you."

The boy nodded sadly. "Yeah, I didn't figure you would. Your heart is still too closed off. Even with your princess trying to get through."

"My princess? What the hell is going on?! If you aren't Roxas, then how are you here!?"

"It should be obvious. Do you remember a man and a woman from your Mark of Mastery Exam?" Sora thought back to the event and nodded lightly. "Can you tell me their names?"

"Aqua… and Terra?" Sora said slowly. The boy nodded. "But, what do they have to do with this? And how do I know them?"

"Right now? Nothing. And, in a way, you do, and you don't. I just need to be sure that your memory hadn't been affected along with your powers. Remember what I told you before. When you reject half of who you are, both begin to reject you. Light and Dark, Dark and Light, they need each other."

"But-"

"Yes, Darkness has been linked to what is evil in your life, but it isn't evil in itself. Darkness envelops half of who you are. Your anger, drive, competitive nature, all of it, comes from your Darkness, Sora." .….. said.

"Wait, if I'm here, then what's going on outside?" the young man asked.

".… is handling things outside. I told him not to go too crazy, but the jury's out on that one. If nothing else, you can at least be sure, he won't hurt any of your friends… Maybe."

Sora growled a bit and looked around, noticing his swords were gone. He looked at … to see him holding them both in his opposite hand. "Had to make sure you'd listen instead of fighting."

"Fair enough. Then why am I here?"

The boy shook his head. "That's not what you wanna ask, Sora. We're in your heart. I hear everything you think. I know everything you do."

For a few moments, Sora was silent. "How do I help Lucina save her world?"

The boy smiled. "Well, that's a three-step process. First, you need to get your powers back."

"I've been trying to get my powers back! You and the other one won't let me!"

…... ignored him. "Second, you have to understand the hidden truth of your bloodline. It stretches back further than you think. And third. You have to awaken the heart of this world."

Sora was taken aback by this. "Wait… This world… is a Sleeping World?"

"Not just a Sleeping World, a world lost. In the Realm of Darkness. This world was lost to the Darkness ages ago, over an eon in time."

"Wait, then how come I haven't seen any Heartless?"

"Good question. You see, from what I can gather, the Divine Dragon, Naga, that people keep talking about is single-handedly holding back the darkness. It's why she can't enforce the seal on the Fell Dragon herself and why she has to choose a champion to do it for her."

"You were able to glean all of that from inside my heart?" Sora asked with a raised brow.

"You'd be surprised how far your senses reach when you can't actually use them. I can feel her energy, moving, seething through the world. But it's getting weaker. She can't keep fighting forever. Even gods have their limits."

"Then how do I find her? Where do I need to go?"

…... smiled cryptically. "The Voice knows the way… Also, give your dad a break."

As he spoke, the boy began to glow, his body starting to fade. "Wait! I have one more question. Earlier, you said 'my princess'. Who were you talking about?!"

"Jeez, you are oblivious. Open your heart, Sora. You can't love someone without taking a risk." And with that, the odd boy vanished in an array of sparkles. And Sora's body went slack, if he'd fallen asleep.

Ventus sighed lightly as he watched Sora's mind return to his physical body. "Terra… Aqua… I hope you two are okay."

* * *

Vanitas laughed as he sliced through the last Valm soldier in his way, throwing the body off the end of the Oblivion and into the water below. ****"Man, if it hadn't been so long since I stretched my legs, I'd say this was boringly easy, but it's been a while since I've had the fun of being able to fight."**** He started to take a step until he heard a sword being pulled from it's scabbard. He slowly turned to see Lucina taking her stance. Vanitas laughed loudly at her, making her scowl at him. ****"Really, princess? Didn't you ever wonder why Sora never sparred with you? You're not on his level. So what makes you think you're on mine?"****

"Give my friend back his body." When Vanitas simply laughed again, she grit her teeth and readied herself. "I mean it! Give him back to us!" She roared and ran at him, sword to her side. She lashed out for a horizontal slash, but the dark haired warrior knocked it aside as easily as swatting a fly. She turned into the momentum, letting it carry her into her next attack. Vanitas seemed legitimately surprised by this, only raising the Keyblade in time for her next attack to glance off to the side. He finally got her rhythm after the third strike, effortlessly keeping her at bay. Finally, their weapons collided, the two pushing against each other.

****"Well, look at that. Seems you're more than you appear." ****Lucina growled as she pushed against Vanitas, only to start sliding back.**** "Careful now, princess. Don't wanna fall now, do ya?" ****He sneered, laughing again. ****"Come on, girl, how much more pain do you need to feel before you get it? You're a failure. You couldn't save your family in your time, what makes you think you can save the world in the past? You were born a loser, just like Sora!"****

Lucina gave a violent roar as every bit of power she had was poured into her arms and legs, pushing Vanitas back a few inches before he dug in, stopping her dead. "I won't lose anyone else. I REFUSE TO LOSE ANYONE ELSE!" The princess slid her blade up the Keyblade, striking the key bit at the top and tearing it from Vanitas' hands. She grabbed it from the air and brought it down hard, slashing down through Sora/Vanitas' armor and shoulder. The force of her blow was increased the moment her hand touched the Keyblade, a wind blade tearing it's way up the tree, inadvertently knocking Cervantes unconscious for a moment and giving Chrom and Sumia the win.

Vanitas was shocked beyond words to see that not only did she muster up the power to knock his weapon from his hand, but she also attacked him with it. Does that mean…? He laughed idly as he stumbled back.**** "Not bad."**** He held his hand up, casting a healing spell on himself. ****"Not bad at all."**** His wound healed almost instantly, not shocking, but scaring the tired royal. She felt incredible strength when she grabbed that weapon, but now it felt like her body was so heavy she couldn't move. He smiled again, holding his hand out before snapping his fingers. In a flash of Darkness, the half-dead Cynthia appeared in his arms. ****"A little goodbye gift for you. Until we meet again, princess."****

A soft green light enveloped them like he had done with himself as he ripped the arrow out of her. The girl began to stir in his arms, groaning gently. He tossed her unceremoniously at Inigo, who just barely caught her. Lucina just looked at if he were insane before he gave one last chuckled before being surrounded by a black twister. "****Cherish my gift, cause I won't be doing it again." ****The twister faded, revealing Sora in his original form before the boy passed out. He fell onto Zidane's back, who lifted him up."

"Well, it wasn't ended the way I thought it would be, but the enemy is routed. And Sora actually didn't almost die this time." Chrom said, sheathing his weapon.

"No, but Cynthia nearly did. If it hadn't been for… whatever happened to Sora, we would have lost her." Frederick informed the king. Him and Sumia took a moment to check on their sleeping daughter and, after seeing she was okay, just tired, they walked over to Lucina.

"What happened over here?" Lucina gave them a full break down of everything that happened while Lissa saw to her injuries. She still held Oblivion in her hand. She refused to let go of it, even when Chrom told her it was dangerous to hold onto. She convinced them to leave it with her and for them to just get Cynthia back to camp as the rest of them make their way up the tree to Lady Tiki. They all agreed and made their way to the Voice of Naga.

Sora groaned as he was jostled. He slowly opened his eyes to see that he was climbing stairs, or more accurately, being carried up them. "Wha?"

Zidane chuckled. "Good to see that you're up, son. Did you enjoy your nap?"

"Har har… Is Cynthia okay?" Zidane simply nodded, not sure what to say about what happened. "I guess that guy kept his promise." Zidane looked at his son oddly, but didn't question him. "Hey, Dad?" This made Zidane stop cold.

"... Yes, son?"

"Do you know anything about the hidden truth of my bloodline?"

Zidane looked at him oddly again. "No. I've never heard anything about that. Where did you hear that?"

"When that other guy took my body, someone told me to save this world, I have to understand the hidden truth of my bloodline."

'So, he did know what was happening. Having your son be a Keybearer is hard work.' "It sounds like a conversation more for you and your mother than me and you, Sora. It might have something to do with the summoners bloodline you descend from." Sora was quiet after this, the genome turning to see an odd expression on his sons face. "Your mother did tell you- What am I saying, of course she didn't. I'll explain when we get back to camp."

Sora grunted in response before going quiet for a few seconds. "Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I can walk from here."

Zidane chuckled and knelt down, the younger warrior stepping onto the solid ground under them. When Sora stumbled, his father caught him. "You sure you got this?"

"Yeah. I'll just hold the wall. And Dad?" The blonde turned to face Sora. "Sorry for being such a jerk."

Zidane smiled the same way Sora always did. "Don't worry about it. If I had been in your position, I'd of done the same thing." With that, the two started up the tree after everyone else. Zidane gave him a quick play of everything that happened while he was under. To say Sora was shocked that Lucina had not only beaten a Keybearer, but with one of his own Keyblades, would have been an understatement. "She refuses to put it down, but I'm pretty sure that she can't hold onto it forever."

As if on cue, a flash of light blinded them for a moment. When they looked down, in Sora's hand was the Kingdom Key. He just stared at the weapon to begin with, imitating a fish. "How?"

"Maybe your heart is finally starting to open up." Zidane suggested, his son dismissing the Keyblade.

Sora started thinking about something a bit disconcerting. "You said Luci grabbed the Keyblade, right?" Zidane nodded. "Dad, keep this between me and you, for now. I need to talk to Luci as soon as possible."

The elder man nodded, following Sora up the staircase just in time to see a beautiful green haired woman tackle Lucina. "Oh, Mar-Mar, is that you?!"

Lucina simply looked at the woman oddly. "My name is Lucina, milady. Though I did go by the name Marth for a time. Might we have met?"

Realization dawned on Tiki's face and her expression turned sad. " ...Alas, no. I'm sorry... You reminded me of someone I knew. But he is gone now. Lost during my endless sleep..." She looked up as Sora came into view, her eyes widening. The boy soon found himself tackled to the ground by the manakete. "Oh, Uncle Alexander, how long it's been! Mother was so worried!"

"Um, what?!" She froze then looked up at the boy she tackled, blinking a few times. "Hi. I'm Sora. Can you get off me now?"

"Oh come on, son." Zidane started. "What man your age doesn't like having a gorgeous lady on top of him?" His answer was the butt of Say'ri's katana in his belly. Sora would have chuckled if it wasn't for the fact that Tiki was still straddling him. She tilted her head to the side adorably, as if confused about who she was on top of.

She slowly moved to get off him, the boy being helped back to his feet by Lucina. "Forgive me, young warrior. You just… remind very much of my mother's elder brother. You look as though you could be him in a younger state."

"Uh, it's okay?" As Sora said this, he noticed Oblivion in his friend's hand before it vanished from her grasp. They both started looking around for it, lifting branches and rocks to check under them.

Tiki giggled and asked Chrom if he was of the exalted bloodline. After their conversation, she placed a blue gem into the odd-looking shield, the Fire Emblem if Sora remembered right. He didn't really get the significance, but Lucina did tell him about it.

As they kept looking, out of nowhere, they all froze. A horrifying chill came into the air as uncontrolled bloodlust assaulted them. They all drew their weapons, ready to fight. Sora looked around for the source, finally looking up just above the entrance. Tiki followed his gaze, smiling and waving. "Young man, you've returned!"

What stood up there was a person about Sora's height, wearing an incredibly familiar black cloak with the hood pulled over his face. The horrifying bloodlust they felt was coming from him. He vanished only to appear in front of the group. He started walking towards Tiki. Say'ri wasted no time, bellowing as she ran forward at the figure. Something felt off to Sora. His body went cold when he figured it out. "Say'ri, stop!" Too late. The sound of metal on metal rang out as the figure batted her katana aside with the metal caestus on his left hand. He grabbed her by the face with his right, lifting her off her feet before slamming her into the floor.

Say'ri lay unconscious at the man's feet. He slowly stood back up, bending backward under Chrom and Lon'qus weapons as they flew over his head. He turned to retaliate when Sora stopped him with his Kingdom Key, knocking the arm back down before he could attack. "Wait, stop! We're not here to hurt anyone!"

The figure froze up before lowering his arms, turning to walk back to the shocked mankete. It had been some time since she'd seen someone with reaction times that extreme. She didn't shy away, however, as the man drew closer. They all tensed as his hand slid into his cloak, only for him to produce… a large sack. Tiki took the sack and opened it, almost squealing gleefully. "Berries! So many kinds too, blueberries, strawberries, ooh, there are even those odd fruits from the tropics, I think they're called banana's." She looked up at the man and hugged him. "Thank you, young man! But, now you need to apologize to them for hurting one of their own."

The male hugged her back before hesitantly nodding. He turned to them and immediately they went back on guard, only lowering it as they watched Tiki, the Voice of Naga, enjoy the first taste of food she'd had in almost a thousand years, yawning a bit every few bites. "I'm sorry for attacking your comrade, though, in my defense, she attacked me first."

Sora froze up again. That voice…

Chrom looked to his men, seeing that Lon'qu and Frederick were picking up the unconscious woman. He looked to his brother-in-law, the blue-haired tactician nodding. "Alright, young man, you're forgiven."

The young warrior nodded and turned back to the groggy manakete. She'd already eaten all of the berries he'd given her. He turned and knelt in front of her. For a moment, everyone was confused, but then Tiki figured it out, a light blush appearing on her face as she giggled. "My, what a gentleman. Thank you for your help." She climbed onto his back, yelping as the male stood up and wrapped his arms around her legs.

Marcus laughed at the sight. "Well then, I suppose it's time for us to head back to camp. Follow us, milady and her attendant."

They all laughed and started back down the stairs, much to Lissa's very verbal chagrin. All except Sora who simply glared at the head of the man carrying Tiki. He swore that as the male walked past, he saw the flash of icy blue eyes meeting his own.

* * *

Sora walked through the camp after checking in on Cynthia. His mind was racing at 100 mph. It couldn't actually be him, could it? We looked up to see a large tent in front of him. His feet had carried him here and they always seemed to know what he needed. He slowly opened the flap to see Tiki napping with her 'attendant' sitting at the foot of her bed, looking to be sleeping himself. Sora knew better. It was a trick he'd used for years to scare Kairi. "I know you're awake."

The figure chuckled. "Didn't figure that'd work."

"How are you here, Roxas?" Sora asked.

The figure finally lifted his head, pulling the hood back to reveal the face of Sora's nobody. "Well, that's quite a story. It was a little over a year ago, now. When I met you in the Mark of Mastery Exam, I figured I was stuck there, lost in your heart without anyway to get my own life back. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, I was dragged into a hole. I figure it was when Xehanort tried to drown you in the darkness. I floated around for a bit… then I woke up. I saw…" He turned to the smiling Tiki, who seemed to be enjoying her dream. "Tiki's mother, Naga came to me and asked me to watch over her daughter."

"And you didn't ask what was in it for you?"

"Sora, I'm a Nobody. I don't exactly belong anywhere. I decided that this could give me some sort of purpose."

That… actually made some sense. "Okay, fair enough, but how did she know who you were when she woke up?"

"Tiki has a nifty ability to see into peoples hearts when they're sleeping, whether she is or not. I couldn't really talk to her, as my heart is still young, but I was happy to listen to her as she spoke."

Sora found that odd. "But, I thought Nobody's didn't have hearts."

Roxas smiled lightly. "We don't start out life with them, no, but over time, if we're given the chance, we can develop them. At least, that's what I believe."

Sora smiled and chuckled, extending his hand to Roxas. "Well, it's good to see you again."

The blonde took his somebody's hand. "Likewise, Sora." He looked back as Tiki shifted in bed. Sora lifted a brow before he noticed something. Oblivious to his own issues, he's always been fairly perceptive of others. When Roxas turned back around, he saw Sora smiling at him oddly. "What?"

"Someone's in love." Roxas' face couldn't have gotten redder. Then, in a moment of great intelligence and tact, Sora says, "Roxas and Tiki, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-ooomph!" He quickly found Roxas' boot slammed toe first into his solar plexus before being kicked in the face out of the tent. The Keybearer rolled end over end on the ground until he rolled into Lucina's tent. As she was changing. He blushed brightly, and tried to form a sentence, but a furious Lucina ended that endeavor rather quickly. The other men had a laugh at the boys expense at dinner, though Tiki had no idea why Roxas (whom she'd only recently learned the name of) was glaring at Sora or why he blushed whenever she spoke to him.

Some mysteries will simply have to wait to be answered.


End file.
